A 31-year-old man who kicked an Ipswich Hospital security guard in the groin while he was attempting to remove him from the premises has been jailed for ten months.

Charlie Clay had been a patient at the hospital but refused to be treated, Ipswich Crown Court was told.

Security staff were called to remove him after he became abusive and managed to get him to Heath Road where he sat down and refused to leave, said Eleanor Sheerin, prosecuting.

The security guards returned to their duties but were then informed that Clay was back on the hospital site and was standing outside an entrance.

He refused to leave and while sitting in a bench he had kicked out at one of the officers striking him in the groin causing him to double over in pain.

Earlier this month Clay, of no fixed address, refused to attend court or to be legally represented and a trial was heard in his absence.

Judge David Pugh said a not guilty plea to a charge of assault on an emergency worker on May 30 this year had been entered on his behalf.

After hearing evidence from witnesses in the case, a jury found Clay guilty of the offence and sentence was adjourned until Thursday (October 19).

Clay, who has 28 previous convictions including offences of assault and threatening behaviour, refused to attend the hearing and was sentenced in his absence.