Mansfield man punched NHS worker after he was found unconscious in the street

A "very intoxicated" Igor Marcuks was "becoming a handful" and had to be restrained by two security staff at King's Mill Hospital, at 4.30pm, said Catherine Wilson, prosecuting.

When an advanced clinical practitioner asked them to release him in the hope he would calm down, Marcuks, aged 59, lurched forward and punched him in the jaw with a sound heard by witnesses.

"You don't ever expect someone to physically hurt you, especially when you are trying to care for them by offering a sandwich and a drink," the practitioner said in a statement. "It changes your mindset."

Marcuks denied punching anyone when he was interviewed and claimed: “When I have a lot to drink I become a lot more kind, not aggressive.”

Pars Samrai, mitigating, said Marcuks had been found lying in the street with blood on his hands and this “disorientation” clouded his judgment.

“He only realised what he had done when he was interviewed and couldn't come to terms with his behaviour,” he said.

“Sadly he has been arrested a few times over the years for drink-driving but has nothing for violence.

“He has nothing but respect for people who work in the medical profession and he has always been grateful for their assistance.”

Marcuks, of Lindley Street, Mansfield, admitted assaulting an emergency worker via a Latvian interpreter, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

He was fined £200 with £165 costs and £125 compensation.