A man seen waving an axe while riding a horse on the streets of a Suffolk town has been jailed for 16 months.

Ipswich Crown Court heard how Peter Davidson-White, 29, was seen by a member of the public riding a horse near the Kings Head pub in Beccles on August 18, 2020.

Davidson-White was later seen on horseback by a witness outside a home around 7.30pm waving an axe in a circular motion, Richard Potts, prosecuting, told the court.

Davidson-White, of The Street, Beccles, then rode off to a nearby park and the police were called.

Officers found Davidson-White and the horse in the park, and the axe was discovered in his saddle, Mr Potts said.

On August 27, officers went to arrest Davidson-White and there was a struggle, the court heard.

The end result saw Davidson-White bite a police officer on the wrist.

The following day at the police station, there was another incident after Davidson-White got frustrated.

This time he bit an officer's finger during a struggle, but only minor injuries were caused, Mr Potts said.

Davidson-White appeared via prison video link at Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday to be sentenced for possessing a bladed article and two charges of assaulting an emergency worker.

The offences also put Davidson-White in breach of a conditional discharge, which he admitted to the court.

An application was also made for a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) to be imposed on Davidson-White.

Davidson-White had a previous conviction for possessing a bladed article and therefore a mandatory six-month minimum sentence applies under the 'two strikes' rule.

The court heard he had been in custody since August.

Sentencing Davidson-White, Judge Rupert Overbury said the offences were serious ones.

The judge said officers have to go through a rigorous testing procedure when their skin is broken after being bitten.

He told Davidson-White: "Police officers should be protected from that sort of behaviour."

Judge Overbury sentenced Davidson-White to 10 months' imprisonment for possessing the axe, and six months each for the police officer assaults to be served concurrently but consecutive to the bladed article offence.

This means Davidson-White was jailed for 16 months in total.

A two-year CBO was also imposed and the judge ordered forfeiture and destruction of the axe.