A man has been stopped in Norwich after punching a police officer in the face.

Norwich Police took to social media to provide details about the incident which happened in the city on Sunday night (January 20).

They tweeted: 'Patrolling this fine City even with the 'supper blood wolf moon' tonight. Just helped stop a male that ran away from my Norwich North colleague after punching him in the face #ProtectTheProtectors #NESNT #PC55.'

New laws came into force in November last year which unlock harsher sentences for those who attack 999 workers - including police officers, paramedics and fire service staff.

Under the Assaults on Emergency Workers Act those who assault emergency workers now face up to 12 months in jail.

In Norfolk, 390 police officers were assaulted in 2016/17, compared to 515 in 2017/18, a 32pc increase.

Of the 515, 383 left no injury and 132 caused injury.