A THUG who headbutted a female police officer in Worcestershire Royal Hospital car park, resulting in whiplash and concussion, has been warned he is facing prison.

Telmo Amaral Fernandes headbutted the officer while he was handcuffed in the back of a marked police car at the county hospital in Worcester, causing her swelling and dizziness which ultimately led to her being diagnosed with a concussion.

Officers had been called to the site following reports of a male driving erratically and Fernandes was stopped after he had caused damage to a number of other vehicles.

The court heard that the 40-year-old previously drove off with an officer hanging onto his car as Judge Nicolas Cartwright warned him he was at risk of custody because of his previous conviction for dangerous driving.

However, because Fernandes, of Wood Terrace, Worcester, had arrived at Worcester Crown Court without legal representation, the judge adjourned the case.

The defendant was asked by the judge to contact a solicitor as soon as he left the court building on Friday.

The judge urged Fernandes to do this "straight away" and told him the address of the solicitors firm who had represented him at an earlier hearing at magistrates' court.

Fernandes had already admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm upon the officer following the attack while he was handcuffed inside a police car on October 1 last year.

He had been listed at Worcester Crown Court for sentence following his conviction for ABH at Worcester Magistrates' Court at a hearing on February 4 this year when he was represented by the duty solicitor, Mark Turnbull.

The defendant, a customer service assistant, had told the judge that he had been informed he was not entitled to legal aid and that he did not believe he could afford to be represented privately by either a barrister or a solicitor.

However when asked if he did think he should be represented, Fernandes replied: "I believe so. I wish to be represented if possible."

Adjourning the case until March 31, Judge Cartwright told Fernandes: "Particularly given your previous conviction in 2012 involving dangerous driving with a police officer hanging off the side of the car, you must realise you're at serious risk of going to custody."