A man who who staged a 24-hour rooftop protest had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

Artur Napierkowski, 31, hurled tiles through windows and onto cars – before stabbing a police officer with a piece of broken glass.

Now, a judge has heard how he had suffered a similar psychotic episode in his native Poland before coming to the UK.

Last year Napierkowski had stopped taking medication and his mother Barbara had noted deterioration in his mental health days before the incident in March 2016.

Prosecutor Ed Fowler told Canterbury Crown Court how Napierkowski had thrown a flower pot through the window of his flat in Northdown Road, Cliftonville.

After climbing onto the roof he began hurling tiles on to the road – as police immediately declared it a “critical” incident and cordoned off parts of Ethelbert Road.

As nearby shops and flats were evacuated, a police negotiator arrived to try talking him down.

But Napierkowski continued to damage three cars, a Rover, a Peugeot and a Volvo parked nearby, as well as the windows in nearby apartments.

He shouted at officers: “I will kill police. I will kill you!”, the court heard.

Mr Fowler said two courageous police officers including Edward Poole then made their way into a loft to negotiate with the protester.

“He was breaking skylight windows but just as he returned to the room, the officers rushed towards him to try and arrest him," he said.

“He attempted to roll back out of the window and was kicking out violently. Napierkowski then got hold of a large piece of glass and used it to stab PC Poole in the hand, causing blood to shoot out. The wound later required six stitches.”

Officers Ben Rabey and Mark Haughton were also injured in the incident before he was arrested.

But the court heard that even then, Napierkowski spat at another officer and struck out with his fist.

Mr Fowler said in prison he later headbutted a prison officer, leaving him needing nine stitches.

Napierkowski – who admitted taking the marijuana and the synthetic drug spice in prison - had shouted that he was “The King of Poland”.

Since the incident he has undergone psychiatric assessment and experts have diagnosed him as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, but he is responding to treatment.

Napierkowski, who is married with children, admitted 11 offences including assaulting four police officers, and was committed for sentence on another assault.

Judge Heather Norton made an order under Sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act, which will mean he will continue to receive treatment in a secure hospital.