Warden attacker has previous convictions for attacking police.

52 year-old Santa Venera resident Carmelo Micallef was granted bail after pleading guilty this afternoon, pending a pre-sentencing report.

Micallef had been parked at Cathedral Street in Sliema yesterday when he refused to obey a warden who had been diverting traffic around a nearby school.

Before Magistrate Audrey Demicoli, Inspector Mark Mercieca explained that the warden had asked the accused to drive on, but he refused and assaulted the warden.

Micallef was charged with assaulting and threatening a public official, causing her slight injuries, using vulgar language in public, breaching the peace and disobeying orders.

The accused has previous convictions for near-identical offences, having been convicted of assaulting a police officer in 2014, threatening a police officer in 2004 and assaulting a man in 1997.

Defence lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Alessia Zammit McKeon pointed to this fact, claiming that the accused suffered from an untreated condition such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

"People might say he has a 'short fuse' but in reality, this is symptomatic of conditions such as ADHD,” posited the defence. The defence requested bail and asked the court to order a pre-sentencing report to identify the man's condition and to establish the way forward with regards to punishment and rehabilitation.

In spite of the prosecution's objections, highlighting the serious nature of the offence and the fact that the accused already had a string of similar convictions, Micallef was released on bail against a deposit of €800 and a personal guarantee of €2,000.