Man jailed for yobbish behaviour towards South Tyneside hospital nurses during lockdown

John Paul Strother has been sentenced to more than five months behind bars after he admitted committing two offences against the key workers on the same date at South Shields’s South Tyneside District Hospital.

Strother, 28, who was initially charged with assaulting both nurses when he previously appeared in court at the end of last month, has now pleaded guilty to two counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour towards his victims on Saturday, April 11.

Documents issued by South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court say he was jailed as the offences were in either case “so serious because of a deliberate attack on a public servant carrying out public duties”.

He was sentenced to 21 weeks behind bars for each of the two charges with the terms to run concurrently.

One of the offences, which took place over the Easter bank holiday weekend in the hospital’s accident and emergency department, was against a female nurse and the other against a male.

Strother, of no fixed address, must also pay each nurse £61 in compensation.

The court ordered on Wednesday, May 20, that he can begin paying the compensation at a rate of £20 per month from October.

Strother, who appeared via video link from custody, has already served more than a month of the sentence while in custody on remand.

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