Police officer spat on in Cairns

A police officer will undergo disease testing after he was spat on during an arrest in Cairns.

Police say the 25-year-old constable was spat on in the face as he put the man, who was allegedly being a public nuisance, in the back of a police van.

A 50-year-old Townsville man will face the Cairns Magistrates Court later this month on charges of being intoxicated in a public place and serious assault of police.