MAGISTRATES thanked custody staff after they stormed the dock to restrain a furious defendant.

The alleged burglar, in his 20s, had just been told he would be remanded in custody while he waited to appear before Swindon Crown Court.

But the young man, wearing a tracksuit top and sporting short blond hair, took exception to court custody officers trying to handcuff him for the walk downstairs to the cells.

He swore and yelled: “Don’t touch me, I can walk.”

It took half a dozen custody staff to carry him from the dock in what the chief custody officer later described as a “snotty bundle”.

Worried family members were warned off filming the fracas. Videoing court proceedings is regarded as a contempt of court. Magistrates can hand out a £2,500 fine or up to a month in prison to those convicted of it.

Custody officers were later thanked for their efforts by chairman of the bench Mr Harting.

No one involved in the fracas had been injured, the cells supervisor told magistrates.