THE public has reacted to the jailing of a man who spat at a police officer. Stephen Kirkbride, 55, received the sentence on Thursday May 6 at South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court as he pleaded guilty to assault of an emergency worker. Kirkbride, who is Hepatitis C positive, spat at PC Carrick following an altercation in Barrow on 7 April 2021. PC Carrick was part of a group of officers that attended Barrow Train Station after receiving a call about a man, Kirkbride, who was drunk and acting aggressively. He said he saw a spray of saliva hit his chest and added in a statement read out in court: “Spitting at someone is one of the worst things you can do to somebody, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.”