Women arrested in Somerset after police 'spat and coughed at'
Three women were arrested after separate incidents in which officers were "spat on, coughed at and physically attacked".
The three assaults happened in Bridgwater and Peasedown St John, near Bath, on Saturday evening, police said. Ch Supt Carolyn Belafonte, from Avon and Somerset Police, said these assaults were "particularly abhorrent in light of the public health crisis". The women are due to appear before Bath and Taunton magistrates next month. Ch Supt Belafonte said: "Anyone who does this can expect to be arrested and as we have already seen elsewhere they could face a prison sentence as a result." A 26-year-old woman was charged with assault after an officer called to reports of a house party in Bridgwater was coughed and spat at. A 42-year-old woman was charged with two counts of assault - including spitting at an officer - following an incident in Peasedown St John. A 36-year-old woman was charged with two counts of assault relating to a domestic-related incident in Bridgwater.