A MAN has been fined after striking a police officer.

Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard how Paul Borley had been arrested at an address in Manor Road, New Milton, and was refusing to get out of a police van at Lyndhurst station.

Borley struck the police constable with an open palm in the face when he tried to get him out, which caused swelling to his inner upper lip and a stiff neck, the court heard.

The 46-year-old, of Caravelle Gardens, Middlesex, pleaded guilty to assaulting a police constable.

In mitigation, the court heard how Borley had been in a car crash eight years ago, which had led to problems with his brain, that Borley had been drinking and was later found not to be responsible for the incident that had led the police to be called out in the first place.

He was ordered to pay a £70 fine, £40 costs, a £20 victim fund and £50 compensation.