A SALES manager fled in a blind panic when police caught him urinating in the street, a court heard yesterday.

Kevin Kingston, 32, was caught short after leaving a nightclub in Harrogate and relieved himself against a shop in The Ginnel.

Stephanie Waite, prosecuting, said that when police swooped, Kingston fled.

When PC Matthew Balmforth caught up with him as he grabbed hold of a lamppost, Kingston pushed backwards, knocking the officer to the floor and falling on top of him.

PC Balmforth's head struck the ground hard and he needed hospital treatment as well as four days sick leave.

Kingston, of Coppice Way, Harrogate, pleaded guilty at Harrogate Magistrates' Court to assault on police and urinating in a public place .

The court heard the offences put him in breach of a conditional discharge he received in February after he had punched a barman at a pub.

Geoffrey Rogers, mitigating, said Kingston, whose birthday was the day after the incident, had also been celebrating the birth of his third child.

Court chairman Pauline Ward gave Kingston a 12-month community order with probation supervision and 140 hours of unpaid work.

He was also fined £25 with £80 costs and was told to pay £175 compensation to PC Balmforth.

Mrs Ward said: "We hope we don't see you back in these courts again. Sort yourself out, otherwise you are going to create all sorts of problems for your family, who I am sure are dependent on you."