A VIOLENT teenager left a British Transport Police officer requiring hospital treatment after hurling a vodka bottle at his head.

Jay Ferguson, 19, lashed out at PC Mitchell Clelland with the makeshift weapon during a confrontation at Edinburgh Waverley train station in 2022.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told that officers were called out to deal with a report of an assault within the station and apprehended Ferguson, who matched the description of the alleged attacker.

Fiscal depute Sarah Noon said that Ferguson and PC Clelland became involved in a scuffle on the ground before the teenager got up and threw the vodka bottle at the officer with “extreme force”.

The bottle struck the officer to the side of the head and then smashed into pieces on the ground.

Ferguson ran off towards the Princes Street exit but was eventually traced after he made his way back to his temporary accommodation at the Travelodge hotel at the city’s Cameron Toll area.

Officers arrested the teenager four hours later, at about 11.20pm on March 25, 2022.

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The court was told that PC Clelland was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh after he had suffered severe swelling and bruising to his head.

He was also said to have suffered from a severe headache, nausea, blurred vision and memory loss following the brutal attack.

A later examination showed that he had suffered an interior disc displacement within his jaw but the court was told that the officer had suffered no permanent injury.

The court was told of a second incident involving Ferguson, where police officers were called to a report of a disturbance at the New Horizons premises in Haddington.

Ferguson was located to his room at the non-secure unit for young people and spoken to by police at about noon on June 7, 2022.

During the conversation, he was said to have become “unhappy with the police officers and words were exchanged”.

'Very serious charges'

Ms Noon said: “This resulted in Mr Ferguson spitting at PC Natalie Dalziel, striking her on the right cheek.”

He was immediately arrested and taken to the capital’s St Leonard’s Police Station, where he was cautioned and charged.

Ferguson appeared from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to both police assault charges.

Solicitor Angela Craig said that her client was currently staying at the Melville Inn at Lasswade in Midlothian.

Ms Craig said: “Clearly these are very serious charges and my client is well aware of the options here.”

Sheriff Ian Nicol deferred sentence to next month for the preparation of social work reports and a restriction of liberty order assessment.

Ferguson pleaded guilty to assaulting PC Mitchell Clelland by throwing a glass bottle at him to his severe injury at Waverley Station, Edinburgh, on March 25, 2022.

He also admitted to assaulting PC Natalie Dalziel by splitting on her head at Florabank Road, Haddington, on June 7, 2022.