A DUMBARTON man who injured a police officer as she tried to arrest him at a town centre shop has been handed a new community-based punishment – after a previous attempt to spare him prison was revoked.

John Harkin left the female officer with damaged shoulder ligaments and a staved thumb as he tried to resist her attempts to put him under arrest at the Farmfoods store in High Street in November 2017.

In January of the following year he was put under social work supervision and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work within eight months after admitting charges of resisting, obstructing or hindering police and shouting, swearing and uttering threats.

But a hearing at the town’s sheriff court on Friday was told that order had later been revoked.

However, a new report on Harkin’s background recommended the imposition of a new community payback order (CPO), again with unpaid work, and this time also with a restriction of liberty order.

Friday’s hearing was told Harkin, of Bontine Avenue, had lunged at the police officer and pulled at her right arm after she was called to the shop and found the 26-year-old sitting on a freezer inside.

Stephen McGuire, defending, said: “His circumstances have stabilised over the last few months.”

Sheriff John Hamilton told Harkin: “Things went wrong; let’s deal with your issues and get things back on track.”

A new CPO was imposed which will see Harkin supervised by social workers until June 2020. He was also told to do 70 hours of unpaid work within six months.