A man described by a magistrate as a ?professional traffic violator? broke down in tears on Monday as he was sent to prison for six months for road offences, drug possession and assaulting a Police officer.

Keijon Steede, of Lusher Hill, Warwick, pleaded guilty to a total of nine motoring offences and two of possessing cannabis as well as assaulting P.c. Gregory White by spitting in his face at Somerset Police Station early on Sunday morning.

The traffic charges against the 24-year-old amounted to four counts of having no driving licence, two of speeding, one of having an unlicensed bike, one of having no third party insurance and one of fraudulently using road traffic documents.

The court heard he also had an unpaid $1,000 fine for a previous matter of driving while disqualified and a further unpaid $1,000 fine for not having insurance, had failed to attend previous court dates and had twice skipped bail.

Steede pleaded not guilty to two further counts of no third party insurance and two of having an unlicensed car, saying he would bring the documents to court at a later date.

Outlining the circumstances leading to the assault on P.c. White, Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney said the incident happened in the early hours of Sunday August 27 as the officer was attempting to escort Steede to a cell at Somerset police station.

When P.c. White asked for his property, the defendant replied ?F**k you, I?m not speaking to a white boy.?

He later spat in the officer?s facing, calling him a ?F*****g white boy,? said Mr. Mahoney. Steede apologised, saying he had been drinking, but had not deliberately spat at the officer.

Telling him he did not accept this, senior magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo said: ?You are 24 years old and all you are doing is fighting authority and the institutions.?

The court also heard how Steede was caught in possession of 1.09 grams of cannabis in May 2005 and 0.48 grams of cannabis in March 2006.

Mr. Tokunbo imposed a total of $3,450 fines for the motoring and drug offences, at which point the defendant asked for time to pay the penalties.

Declining this, Mr. Tokunbo said: ?You don?t come to court. You are consistently driving with no licence. You don?t have any respect for traffic laws.?

The defendant told Mr. Tokunbo he would have to serve the default penalty of 100 days in prison as he did not have the money for the fines unless he was given time to pay.

Mr. Tokunbo also sentenced him to six months in prison for assaulting P.c. White, telling him this would give him time to think about traffic violations and not paying fines.

Steede faces two further charges, dating back to 2002, of wounding and assault causing bodily harm. Mr. Tokunbo adjourned that case until September 6, remanding the tearful defendant into custody until then.