James McDowell, 34, from Demesne Avenue in Ballymena, appeared at Ballymena Magistrates' Court on Thursday. The court sentenced him to six months in jail for disorderly behaviour at Antrim Area Hospital.

McDowell had a previous record. After discharge, he lay on the floor and refused to leave. He blocked a corridor with his legs and ignored police requests to stand.

The incident followed a drug overdose from which he recovered. On the way to a police vehicle, he headbutted a window. He had also been disorderly at Demesne Avenue on August 19 last year and tried to damage a police vehicle.

Deputy District Judge Alan White activated four suspended sentences. The judge fixed £500 bail for any appeal but denied release pending appeal due to a high risk of re-offending.

A separate case at Ballymena Magistrates' Court involved James Thomas Ward, 45, from Dunclug Park in Ballymena. Ward received a one-month jail term for possessing a knife and the drug gabapentin on March 2 last year.