A 16-year-old boy, from Swadlincote, pleaded guilty yesterday (Monday) to the wounding of a police constable in Ashby when he appeared in youth court at Leicester Magistrates.

He has been released on bail and is due to be sentenced on 11 January 2021.

The youth cannot be named for legal reasons.

The injured officer said: "It does make me angry that I was out doing my job and I have been attacked in this way. It shouldn't be accepted that I am attacked in my job and left with injuries like this that will be with me for the rest of my life."

The officer had been carrying out her duties in the Ashby area on 12 September this year when she assisted with carrying out a search of the 16-year-old youth who had been detained by other officers in Burton Road due to concerns raised around his behaviour.

The officer told the youth she was carrying out the search on him but due to his behaviour at the time and concerns that he was going to leave the scene, she made the decision to handcuff him.

As she placed a handcuff around one of the youth's wrists, he then used his free hand to punch her to the nose.

The officer described her face being forced to the side and suffering pain she "had never experienced before".

She said: "It happened so quickly and I didn't know what had hit me. I just felt extreme pain and realised I couldn't see properly either."

The officer, who managed to keep hold of the handcuffs after being attacked, also found that she was bleeding heavily from her nose and her mouth.

She was assisted by colleagues who realised what had happened and arrested the youth.

The officer was taken to Queens Hospital Burton where it was found she had suffered from a broken nose, a broken septum, a deep laceration and tear to the left side of her nose and nostril, significant swelling and bruising.

She had to undergo surgery to try and fix her nose and also had to have six internal stitches and 11 external stitches to the nose.

Three months on and the officer is now awaiting further surgery as she is unable to breathe through her right nostril and has limited breathing through her left nostril.

She also has exposed cartilage in her nostrils as a result of the injuries caused.

While back at work, she has been working from home and has not been able to go back to her normal duties at this stage.

She said: "I do hope to be able to be back out at some point working operationally but at the moment it is a case of seeing how things are and seeing how I feel."

NPA Commander for North West Leicestershire, Inspector Rich Jackson said: "This was a horrific assault carried out on an officer who was simply doing her job.

The attack was carried out by a person who was bigger, taller and stronger meaning that one punch caused horrendous long-term injuries.

"Full support has been and remains in place for the officer concerned who has bravely shared her story to raise awareness of an issue which needs to be stopped.

"It is not acceptable for anyone to be attacked and assaulted in their job and we will not tolerate this happening to our officers. Action will be taken and we will ensure anyone who commits this offence is brought before the courts."