AN ALCOHOLIC who attacked a fellow patient as he lay in his hospital bed following a major operation has been jailed for two years.

Michael Moran shook the bed of the man, who was being treated for Crohn's disease, and threatened to throw him out of the window.

The 42-year-old then pulled the end off the bedstead and threw it towards the stomach of the victim, who had recently undergone bowel surgery.

Judge Tom Longbotham ruled that Moran presented a danger to the public and imposed a two-year extension to the licence when he is released.

James Wilson-Smith, prosecuting, said that Moran was in the Great Western Hospital on February 8 having been bitten by a police dog.

The victim was on the same ward where he was recuperating following two major operations and had tubes and lines in his neck and stomach.

Mr Wilson-Smith said Moran was walking around the ward asking other patients if they wanted him to press the nurse call' button, which they declined.

The court heard that Moran then grabbed the end of the bed and shook it before pulling out the end and raising it above his head.

After threatening to throw him out of the window, Moran hurled the end of the bed at the man's stomach.

Realising it was going to hit him in the abdomen, where he had been operated on, the victim managed to raise his legs and deflect it, cutting his foot.

Mr Wilson-Smith said that shortly before the incident Moran had stolen a packet of salt and a bottle of Guinness from a convenience store.

Moran, of Whitworth Road, admitted theft charges and actual bodily harm.

The court heard he has nine previous convictions, including grievous bodily harm from 2001 when he was put on probation for attacking a policeman.

Rob Ross, defending, said that his client suffered from manic depression as well as alcoholism.

He said "This defendant was clearly unwell at the time of the offence.

"It was abundantly clear when he was arrested that he was unwell."

He said that Moran was not taking his medication and was also drinking heavily.

Since his arrest he said that Moran had been sectioned and detained in a secure unit before being released and was now taking his medication and not drinking.

However, the court heard that he had said he was not prepared to stay completely off drink, which could trigger bouts of manic depression.

Mr Ross told the court that if Moran's treatment was managed properly then he was a low risk to the public.

But the judge disagreed and ruled that Moran presented a risk of serious harm to the public.