A man armed with a hammer kicked and tired to headbutt a police officer.

Mariusz Magda, of North Street, Barking, was sentenced just a day after the violent attack.

Police were flagged down by a bus driver on Monday (September 23) at 12.30am, who reported a man wielding a hammer in Station Parade.

The 26-year-old was eventually found near Cambridge Road and was told to drop the hammer as he was being detained.

However, the man began to resist and kicked the officers, as well as trying to headbutt one of them, hitting the body-worn camera.

Despite his violent actions, Magda was securely detained and arrested.

At Barkingside Magistrates' Court on Tuesday (September 24), he was sentenced to 39 weeks' imprisonment for common assault of an emergency worker, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and assault by beating of an emergency worker. 

He had pleaded guilty to these offences.

Inspector Carroll Weeden: “Officers were working through the night in Barking to reassure the public and reduce violent crime, and they put themselves in harm’s way to protect the public from Magda and the weapon he was holding.

"The violence used against those officers goes a long way to indicating how important this police intervention might have been.

“This isn’t the first time that Magda has been convicted of assaulting emergency workers. The message to him, and I hope to anyone else who assaults the police officers working to keep Londoners safe, is very clear.

"Violence against anyone, including emergency workers, will not be tolerated and those who assault police may find themselves behind bars not only in a police cell but for an extended period in prison.”