The man who fell off a sofa while laughing at Have I Got News For You - and ended up in court



A man was handcuffed, arrested and dragged before a court after falling off the settee with laughter while watching Have I Got News For You.

Christopher Cocker, 36, was enjoying the BBC1 show when a joke made by panellist Paul Merton had him doubled up with laughter.



He collapsed on the floor - but the thud startled his downstairs neighbour who, believing he had collapsed, called police.

Funny man: Paul Merton's joke on Have I Got News For You left Christopher Cocker rolling on the floor with laughter - and then locked in a police cell

Officers arrived and said Cocker was initially co-operative but became 'aggressive' when they asked his name and tried to shut his front door.



He was eventually disabled with parva spray through the gap and arrested.



Jonathan Taylor, defending, said: 'The officer accepts in his statement that he struck my client and then sprayed him again.

'He was handcuffed and unceremoniously thrown into the back of a police van. When he ended up in a police cell he was asking himself how all this had happened.'



Mr Taylor told Blackburn Magistrates' Court, Lancs., said that having informed the police he was the only one in the flat and he was fine, his client could not understand why they wanted his details.



'With hindsight he should just have told the police what they wanted to know and they would have gone on their way,' said Mr Taylor.



Cocker, of Blackburn, Lancs., pleaded guilty to resisting a police officer and was given a conditional discharge for six months following the incident on May 20.



A charge of assaulting PC Michael Davies was withdrawn.



Speaking after the hearing, Cocker said he had been in his flat minding his own business.



He said: 'I can't believe it - I was thrown in the back of a police van before being stripped naked and put in a cell.



'I was handcuffed behind my back and my ankles bound with plastic ties before six of them carried me to the van.

''It was something Paul Merton said and I remember falling of the settee, I didn't think it would end up in court.



'I hadn't had a drink or anything, I was just watching TV and all this happened. Paul Merton is one of my favourites. He's really funny.'



Prosecutor Alex Mann said the police went to ensure everything was all right and spoke to Cocker who was 'co-operative and relaxed' and he assured the officers everything was fine.



'He only became worked up when the police asked for his details,' said Mrs Mann.



'The police tried to explain they just needed the name for the report but he became aggressive and started swearing at the officer.'



After the hearing Joan Codling, 57, who lives in the flat below and made the call to police, said she contacted officers after being concerned that he may have fallen ill.



She said: 'I was worried in case he was having an epileptic fit. There was a lot of noise and I didn't know what to do so I called the police.'



A police spokesman said Cocker became 'aggressive' towards the officers who feared for their own safety.



The spokesman said: 'Parva spray was used to stop any confrontation and was necessary to protect the officers and any members of the public who were around at the time.



'Within the circumstances, we feel we used reasonable force.'

