Raider tried to spit at brave store worker

A supermarket raider attempted to spit at a member of staff who bravely restrained him during a bungled break-in.

Stephen Arthur also hurled a bottle of whisky at the employee while trying to escape from Asda, in Leechmere Road, Sunderland, after a fire alarm sounded.

Arthur was eventually detained, arrested by police and jailed for 10 weeks just two days later by magistrates.

South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court imprisoned him after labelling the offences “so serious” because they were “aggravated by the defendant’s record of previous offending”.

He was also criticised for his “flagrant disregard for court orders”.

Arthur was jailed for four weeks after admitting attempted burglary, in which he tried to steal two £20 bottles of Grant’s Whisky, and another two weeks after pleading guilty to the assault.

Both offences took place on Saturday, February 20, at about 11.30pm.

Arthur, 43, of Tatham Street, in Sunderland, also received a further four weeks behind bars after he was re-sentenced by the court for a string of convictions. These included causing £100 of criminal damage to a door frame and attempting to steal meat from the same Asda store on September 4.

He also stole £55.94 of dog leads and harnesses from B&M, on Roker Retail Park, less than a fortnight before his latest crimes.

Arthur, who received credit for his guilty pleas, was also ordered to pay £240 compensation following his February 20 offences.