By Helena Vesty,Kenny Parker

Copyright manchestereveningnews

A businesswoman who violently bit a police sergeant before lying that she had the HIV virus has been spared jail. The mum-of-two claimed the callous comment was made in “the heat of the moment”, which was accepted by a magistrates’ court – despite her refusing to get a blood test to prove whether she had HIV. Sian Hughes, 37, was being arrested on suspicion of drink driving following a car smash when she suddenly sunk her teeth into Sgt Andy Burrage’s arm and and shouted: ”I have HIV!” when she broke the skin. The officer, who is in his late 40s and was preparing for retirement from Cheshire Police, had to undergo six months of medical tests after Hughes refused to take a blood test to confirm whether she had HIV before being eventually told he did not have the virus. Never miss a story with the MEN’s daily Catch Up newsletter – get it in your inbox by signing up here Hughes, who employs eight people at a hair salon in Tarporley, Cheshire, later claimed she had only bitten Sgt Burrage as she had previously been a victim of domestic violence and wanted to ‘get him off her.” She also claimed she had deliberately crashed her car in an attempt to take her own life. But in a statement, the policeman, who once appeared on the BBC show Street Patrol UK, said he was left with a visible scar following the mauling. He said: “The result of being bitten by Sian Hughes was searing pain in the arm. “As pain took hold I had to continue to assist my colleague with the arrest although it was clear that the wound would need treatment. It was deep and I could see the exposed tissue. “I was concerned about infection or disease which was exacerbated when she shouted out, she had HIV. I attended the Countess of Chester hospital where I had the wound treated and dressed and it took me away from duties from the rest of the shift. “The pain did not subside for 24 hours and continued to ache for several days and was bleeding heavily for a number of days and required daily dressing and iodine. “I still have discoloration where the assault took place and can see the scars where Hughes sank her teeth into my arm. I do not know if the scar will be permanent.” He added: “When s he shouted that she had HIV just after the assault, that concerned me immensely. “I learnt at the hospital she refused to confirm that she did not have HIV and she can never understand how that made me feel. Not knowing if she had HIV or not was a deeply worrying and anxiety inducing position to be in. “I had to wait a period of six months until I knew for definite my HIV status. My life for months was the not knowing and worrying and not knowing my status for sure. I am immensely angry at her behaviour. “I have been assaulted a few times in my career – but I have never been bitten or received an injury as bad as this, both physically and psychologically.” At Chester Magistrates’ Court, Hughes faced 36 weeks in jail under sentencing guidelines after she admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assaulting a police officer and failing to provide a specimen of breath. But she was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 12 months, after insisting she had no intention of hurting the officer. The incident took place at 10.45pm on February 12 after Hughes of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, crashed her Nissan Qashqai into a tree on A51 in Ellesmere Port. Prosecutor Mr Charlie Hayward said: “Members of the public stopped to assist and called 999. “Police arrived and located the defendant around 200m away from the collision. She was escorted by police into the rear of a police vehicle. “They described the defendant as intoxicated and there was a strong smell of alcohol when speaking to her.” The court heard she refused a roadside breath sample and “smacked” the breathalyser device out of an officer’s hand. “She became verbally aggressive and abusive to officers Burrage and Burt,” the court heard. “They put handcuffs on her due to her increasingly aggressive behaviour but she bit officer Burrage on his arm and broke the skin, causing immediate pain and bleeding. She then declared that she had HIV. “She was taken to Countess of Chester hospital due to the nature of the collision and the potential injuries. “But at the hospital she refused breath, saliva or blood samples to test for drug and drink driving without giving any explanation as to why she couldn’t take the tests. She also refused to be tested for HIV.” Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp group HERE Hughes had a previous conviction from 2013 for drink driving and a caution for battery from 2020. A probation officer told the court: “She was very compliant during the interview and very emotional as well. “Clearly, she does feel a lot of remorse for the incident. She explained for a long time she has been struggling with her mental health. She has PTSD and anxiety. “At the time she admitted that she was self medicating with alcohol and was suppressing a lot of emotions. “That day was the anniversary of her grandfather’s passing and it was the straw that broke the camel’s back and emotions came to the surface. ”She admits drinking before getting in the vehicle but she did not crash because of the alcohol. “It was deliberate and an attempt to end her own life based on her state of mind at the time. “She does not have much memory of refusing the breath test. She is aware that she should have complied. With the aggression she did appear genuinely remorseful. ”After feeling a lot of force from the officers, she was not intending to hurt them, simply to get them off her. “She had been the victim of domestic violence previously and was the victim of a high level of physical abuse which likely fed into her fight or flight reaction. She does take full responsibility and apologises to the officers.” The officer added: “She has abstained from alcohol and is accessing weekly counselling treatment and feels this experience was a wake up call. She needs to find a healthy way of coping with her emotions. “She is a business owner and is concerned what would happen to her employees is she received custody. I would be concerned about her ability to cope with prison. In mitigation for Hughes, solicitor advocate Adam Antoszkiw said: “She is profoundly remorseful for her actions and she has done a lot since then to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again. It was terribly out of character. “The regrettable comment made was not used in a sinister context. She was acting quite wildly, it was a chaotic scene, and it was said very much in the heat of the moment. “When she was interviewed a day later, she quite clearly stated she is not HIV positive although I appreciate that she made the threat and in the hospital she did not consent to the test. “It is a thoroughly regrettable situation, for a mother and business owner, who otherwise lives a very positive life. “She still runs her business, employs eight staff and looks after her adult children. There is genuine remorse. “There are genuine steps that she has taken since this incident and I would submit this is very much an isolated incident.” Hughes was also told to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 60 hours of unpaid work and to pay £500 in compensation to Sgt Burrage with £272 in costs and a victim surcharge. She was banned from driving for 36 months. JP Philip Pegum told her: “We have taken into account, you have pleaded guilty and mental health difficulties that you had, and the personal circumstances surrounding your family. “We can accept on the spur of the moment you said you were HIV positive but at the hospital you refused to be tested. You refused to give your blood to be tested for HIV and that compounded it. “You could have confirmed it and you were clearly trying to cause a significant impact by that.