A man who turned up at court with a crack pipe told security staff ‘I will f***ing bang you out’ before spitting at them, a magistrates bench heard.

Darren Basden, 49, who has around 150 previous convictions on his record, was at Reading Magistrates’ Court on October 21 for an appointment with his solicitor.

Prosecutor Richard Atkins told the justices in Oxford that a security guard at the Berkshire court called their supervisor, as a result of ‘there being a crack pipe’ in his belongings as he was searched at the entrance.

Told that the pipe would be confiscated, Basden replied: “I’m not here to smoke crack.”

When he was later interviewed by the police, the Reading man said he had asked for them to give back the smoking equipment and he would ‘go’.

Basden was later said to have made threats to ‘hurt’ one of the two members of security staff, calling her a ‘b****’. He allegedly said: “I will f***ing bang you out.”

He spat towards the woman, striking one of the officers in the back of the head and another to the side of the head.

Basden, of Hadrian Walk, Reading, failed to attend his trial at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (February 1). He was found guilty in his absence of two counts of common assault and also convicted of failing to attend court.

The bench issued a warrant for his arrest.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

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