A former firefighter from Machynlleth bit two police officers and threw a seven-foot wooden pole at another firefighter during two separate incidents last year, a court heard.

Mallory Thomas Wilks, 35, who identifies as non-binary and asked to be referred to as "they" in court, bit PC Crabb and PC Phillips in the hand in Aberystwyth and stole keyrings and a banner from a fire station in Newtown.

PC Phillips said she "genuinely feared for mine and my colleague's lives", and the incident left PC Crabb worrying for two weeks whether he had contracted coronavirus from the bite.

Helen Tench, prosecuting, said that in Aberystwyth on November 9 Wilks violently resisted arrest by kicking and bit the two officers. Wilks was then placed in leg restraints due to their "sudden and explosive" behaviour.

The court heard that Wilks was "so strong" that PC Crabb thought they would overpower him.

In a victim statement read out in court, PC Crabb said there was no back up or taser-trained officer available at the time. He radioed for help but feared the nearest assistance was in Lampeter or Cardigan. PC Crabb said it was "good fortune" that a police officer and a retired police officer came to help him.

He said: "It is not acceptable to bite me particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I worried for two weeks that I may contract coronavirus from this person and my biggest fear was that I would infect the people closest to me."

Dyfed-Powys Police Chief Inspector Mark Collins said in a statement there are 180 assaults on the force's police officers every year.

He said: "Most importantly officers and staff are people, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters and when they are attacked they become victims just like any other, but are being attacked while trying to protect others."

Mrs Tench told the court that on October 22, a firefighter phoned the police to say that a man acting suspiciously had taken keyrings from Newtown Fire Station on Llanidloes Road. Wilks was approached by two firefighters, and left the items in a nearby charity clothes bank.

One firefighter told police that he had been threatened with a large wooden pole which had been thrown at him.

They told police that they both knew Wilks as they were a former firefighter in Machynlleth but had been dismissed. Officers later found a seven-foot wooden pole at the side of the road.

The court heard that CCTV footage showed a person waving a large pole over their head and throwing it from the other side of the road.

During a police interview, Wilks said incident did not happen and the firefighters were "homophobic".

Mrs Tench said that on November 2, another firefighter phoned the police to say that Wilks was outside the fire station with a banner and a rainbow flag.

A police officer attended the fire station and found a banner with 'homophobic hate crime' written in paint. Wilks said it was a silent protest and that they were doing nothing wrong. Wilks was then arrested.

Rebecca Carter, defending, said the "very difficult case" was linked to Wilks feeling victimised due to gender alignment and being unfairly treated during and at the end of their employment with the fire service.

She told the court that a wind-up rape alarm was pulled out of Wilks' bag in Aberystwyth, and not a knife.

Ms Carter added that the events were "out of character" and linked to a deterioration in Wilks' mental health.

Chair of the magistrates' bench Stephen Pembroke told Wilks: "We feel your anger and grievance from working as a firefighter came out during these events and they must stop now."

Wilks was given a two-year community order and fined £1,000 for assaulting two emergency workers, criminal damage, theft, and using threatening behaviour during two incidents last year.

Wilks is also banned from entering fire station premises.