Anti-government protester told police Ive been damned from birth as he tried to murder officer, brandished Molotov cocktail and set fire to patrol van

A violent anti-government protestor said he had been damned from birth as he set a police van alight with a fire bomb before attempting to murder an officer, a court has heard.

Alexander Dighton, 28, from Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf, torched the van outside Talbot Green Police Station where he was armed with a knife and a hatchet on the evening of January 31.

When police intervened and asked Dighton - who was wearing body armour - to stand down, he told them Im fed up, Im done and began attacking the officers.

He was tasered and peppered sprayed to little effect, meaning he was able to assault one officer with a wooden pole while stabbing another in the leg.

Dighton who told police Ive been damned from birth was soon apprehended and taken to Bridewell Police Station where he admitted the attacks were motivated by his anti-government beliefs.

Representing himself, he appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey today with a long brown beard, flanked by three officers and plead guilty to all charges.

The 28-year-old interrupted Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb when she said his lack of legal representation may be motivated by his problem with authority figures.

The softly spoken Dighton said: No, No. Authority is not my problem, it is the use of authority that is the problem. Authority itself is not a problem, it is perfectly natural.

Alexander Dighton (above) torched the van outside Talbot Green Police Station where he was armed with a knife and a hatchet on the evening of January 31

Representing himself, he appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey today with a long brown beard, flanked by three officers and plead guilty to all charges

When police intervened and asked Dighton to stand down, he told them Im fed up, Im done and began attacking the officers

The use of authority which I have seen since I was 15, thats my problem.

He had told a previous hearing there was absolutely no chance whatsoever of him getting representation and added: I am guilty, there is no point in faffing around with this.

Dighton admitted the attempted murder of DC Jack Cotton, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm of PS Richard Coleman and battery on an emergency worker on DC Joshua Emlyn.

He also plead guilty to committing arson with intent to endanger life, having an offensive weapon, two charges of having a bladed article and two of damaging property.

The 28-year-old was captured on CCTV footage arriving across the street from the police station, before rummaging into his bag to retrieve one of his two homemade Molotov cocktails.

At around 6.53pm he picked up one of the flaming device and walked towards the police station where he lit and threw it at a police van.

The bottle shattered but the Molotov cocktail failed to ignite and no fire spread, so he poured the contents of the second bottle onto the vans bonnet before lighting it.

At 7pm, he started another fire under the van then grabbed a wooden pole, using it repeatedly to hit the police van and break its windows.

Dighton (above) who told police Ive been damned from birth was apprehended and taken to Bridewell Police Station where he admitted the attacks were motivated by his anti-government beliefs

The weapon splintered before he moved on to target another marked police car.

Dighton was then said to have assaulted PS Richard Coleman who tried to stop him before clattering PS Colemans head with a wooden pole and punching DC Joshua Emlyn to the left of the head.

As officers tried to restrain him, Dighton was accused of reaching for a knife and stabbing DC Jack Cotton in the leg.

Two officers were taken to hospital and treated for their injuries.

The court was informed that Dighton, who had no previous convictions, had been told he may have Aspergers Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorder when he was a child but had never received a formal diagnosis.

The judge has ordered a pre-sentence report and asked Dighton if he needed anything from the hearing to be explained.

No, no that all seemed perfectly salient, he replied.

He has been remanded in custody where he will remain before being sentenced at the Old Bailey on May 13.