A teenage thief started calling police vile names and even spat in the face of one officer as he was taken into custody.

Callum Arney, 18, was arrested when officers were called to an unrelated incident in Dartford, on May 31 last year, when he was found in the area.

As police tried to apprehend him to see if he was involved in any criminality, Arney became abusive and demanded they not touch him. He then called officers a series of obscene names.

Arney, who has a care-of address of King's Hill Avenue, West Malling, didn't stop there and continued to abuse officers as they were taking him to the police station in Gravesend, and even said to one officer he would rape his mother and that she would probably like it and that he would urinate on one officer's body.

As he was being processed in the custody suite at the station, he spat in custody sergeant Naseem Asif's face and shouted: "White lives matter."

He was charged with assault on an emergency worker, and threatening behaviour in relation to the abuse he gave the officers on that day.

Arney was bailed but about two months later in July, he committed further offences when he stole from a Co-op store in Dartford on three separate occasions.

The court heard on July 18, 2021 he went into the store and stole £3.30 worth of items from inside.

The next day he returned and stole a box of Magnum ice cream and two Red Bull drinks valued at £8.10, but later returned and took £10.70 worth of frozen food, including chips, cod and scampi and left without paying.

On August 2 last year he offended again when police were called to a disturbance near his mother's home in Orchard Street, Dartford.

When police arrived, Arney was outside her home shouting and swearing and then became abusive towards PC Eilish McLaughlin, calling her obscene names.

He was warned about his language and arrested over the shoplifting matters. As he was being handcuffed and searched, he started getting irate and aggressive and called the same officer more names.

He was later charged with a second count of threatening behaviour in relation to what he said to PC McLaughlin and three counts of shoplifting.

Arney admitted the shoplifting, assault on police and one threatening behaviour offence when he appeared before magistrates in December last year.

He was still awaiting sentencing over those matters when he appeared before magistrates again on March 18 this year and admitted the second threatening behaviour in relation to the August incident in Dartford.

Arney returned to Folkestone Magistrates' Court on November 23 to be sentenced.

Neil Sweeney, prosecuting, told the court the sergeant gave a victim impact statement about what happened to him.

Mr Sweeney added: "The custody sergeant felt physically unclean after he spat in his face and was worried about Covid. He felt it was sickening behaviour. He [Arney] has no previous convictions."

He also told magistrates PC McLaughlin had also give a victim impact statement which said in her seven years as working for Kent Police she'd never suffered verbal abuse to the extent Arney gave her that day.

The statement added: "It was vile and entirely unwarranted and he had no respect and should be ashamed."

Natasha Lake, defending, told the court Arney was under 18 at the time he committed the offences and he'd had a chaotic summer and was ashamed and remorseful.

Magistrates decided to place him on a 18-month community order which will see him complete 30 rehabilitation sessions with probation.

He was also ordered to pay the custody sergeant £100 compensation for spitting in his face and £50 to PC McLaughlin for the abuse he gave her.

Arney was also ordered to pay £22.10 compensation to the Co-op in Oldfield Place, Dartford.