A Swindon man accused of assaulting two police officers has said he was acting in self-defence.

Daniel Lamb, 34, of Rodbourne Road, appeared at Swindon Magistrates Court on September 3 and pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault by beating of an emergency worker.

The court heard how the alleged incident took place on Thursday, August 15 when officers were called to Lamb's home following a dispute between himself and his partner.

Officers described Lamb as “animated” with his arms moving around and his jaw swinging as if he had taken drugs, while they were communicating with colleagues over the radio to check if there were any outstanding enquiries for the pair.

They discovered that the female was wanted in connection with a previous offence and tried to arrest her, but Lamb and his partner began to query the arrest and Lamb became more agitated and aggressive.

As they were arresting her, Lamb was reportedly pacing and running towards the two officers and they were forced to restrain him.

Lamb was then arrested for his outburst and he told his large dog to “bite this motherf***er” and “kill them", but the dog was held back by someone else to prevent it from attacking the officers.

Meanwhile, officers say Lamb continued to resist arrest and he ended up on the floor while they attempted to restrain his legs, but he kicked one officer in the knee causing him pain. 

Then Lamb was lifted into the custody van where he was reportedly led his back on the floor and kicked another officer in the chest, before kicking a third time and causing the same officer to cut their hand on the door.

In mitigation, Mr Hotson, defending, said Lamb found the officers to be using “unlawful violence” which caused him injuries and Mr Hotson confirmed he had seen those injuries in person later that day, although they were not disclosed to the court. 

He added that Lamb’s actions were provoked in response to the violence officers had shown him.

Mr Hotson said: “The use of violence was such that Mr Lamb had to seek to defend himself.”

The hearing was adjourned until a trial on January, 24, 2025 at Swindon Magistrates Court and Lamb will be on unconditional bail until this date.

The Magistrate warned him: “If you commit an offence on bail it will be treated more seriously.”