NINE police officers rushed over to Ely courthouse on Thursday afternoon, after 20-year-old Michael Turner tried to escape from the dock. Turner had just been given a two-week sentence in a Young Offenders Institution when he tried to punch and kick his w

NINE police officers rushed over to Ely courthouse on Thursday afternoon, after 20-year-old Michael Turner tried to escape from the dock.

Turner had just been given a two-week sentence in a Young Offenders Institution when he tried to punch and kick his way to freedom.

Angry and bleeding from an injury, Turner refused to leave the dock when two officers arrived in response to an emergency call to the nearby Ely Police Station.

Reinforcements arrived, and the courtroom was cleared while Turner was taken to the cells. The door of the dock was damaged, and blood was splattered around during the 15-minute incident.

Turner, of New Barns Avenue, Ely, had admitted assaulting Kirstie Gray at another address in New Barns Avenue five days before Christmas.

On two occasions he failed to turn up at the probation service in Cambridge for a report to be prepared, so on Thursday magistrates decided to go ahead and sentence him without a report.

They heard that Turner had lost his temper when Ms Gray said he should get a job to help support their child.

He threw a glass of wine in her face, grabbed her arms and pinned her down.

Turner told police he had drunk a lot of wine, and his memory was blank about the incident.

"Sending me to prison is not a great idea," he told the court. "It will make me re-offend," he warned.