A 32-YEAR-OLD man has admitted punching a police officer in the face during an incident at a house in Ederney at the weekend.

Matthew Goan, of Moynaghan Road, Irvinestown, was charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer on Sunday (September 18).

Brought before Fermanagh Magistrates Court on Monday, Goan entered guilty pleas to both charges.

The court heard that police were called to an address in Ederney by a local resident.

She explained to the officers that the defendant, her former partner, was “heavily intoxicated” and she wanted him removed from the property.

Locating Goan asleep in an upstairs bedroom, the officers roused him.

After requesting that he leave the property, the defendant became “aggressive” towards the police.

Referring to the officers as “black b*****ds”, Goan said he was not leaving with them and threatened to “bust” them.

He then punched one of the constables in the mouth, causing a laceration to his lower lip and swelling to the upper lip.

Defending solicitor, Tommy Owens, told the court that his client did not have a relevant previous record.

District judge, Nigel Broderick, observed that one of the officers had sustained an injury and directed for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.

The judge released the defendant on his own bail of £500 and adjourned the case until Monday, October 17.

Under the terms of his bail, Goan has been ordered by the district judge not to consume alcohol and must abide by a daily curfew between 11pm in the evening and 7am in the morning.