A drunken man who attacked a Garda car with his walking stick has escaped going to prison.
Tony Ward pulled the aerial off a Garda car and then attacked it with his walking aid while Gardai were at a disturbance in Letterkenny, Co Donegal on April 7th last.
Ward, 53, of no fixed abode, continued to be abusive to Gardai in Letterkenny Garda station when he was arrested, Letterkenny District Court heard.
His solicitor, Ms Deirdre Gallagher, said her client had been stressed out trying to find long-term accommodation.
He had not been taking his medication and was drinking heavily, she added.
Ward told the court “I know I was out of order and I’m extremely sorry.”
Judge Paul Kelly applied the probation act.