A SHOPLIFTING incident quickly escalated when the thief assaulted two people while trying to flee the scene of the crime.

Gerald Hicks, from Deerhurst Way, Toothill, appeared at Swindon Magistrates' Court for sentencing after pleading not guilty to two assault charges and pleading guilty to one charge of theft, one charge of driving while disqualified, and one charge of possessing a knife in a public place.

Vivian Thatcher, prosecuting, described how the 45-year-old's plan to steal alcohol from Sainsbury's in Paddington Drive on June 10 to pay for his drug habit didn't quite go the way he expected.

Mr Thatcher said: "Mr Hicks entered the shop and one member of staff was concerned so she positioned herself by the exit, then came out of the store with a large bag full of alcohol with security tags on them.

"The staff member believed they were stolen and asked him to give her the bag but he refused and she grabbed hold of the bag.

"Another man who was with Mr Hicks came over and the two men pulled the bag, causing the staff member to fall over, which was the first instance of assault.

"They ran away but the staff member's husband happened to be in the car park waiting for her and he followed them along with another member of the public who was acting in the public good.

"The pair split up and their pursuers grabbed the defendant, who swung his arms at the member of the public, causing him to fall over and graze his elbow.

"They tried to detain the defendant near the trolleys, then more staff members arrived and they detained him.

"Mr Hicks complained that he has breathing difficulties and went to reach for something by his waist.

"He had a knife in a sheath on his belt which was quickly taken away from him.

"The police then searched him and found car keys, which is how they discovered that he had been driving without a full licence."

Hicks' victims were not seriously hurt.

A representative from the probation services said Hicks had an extensive history of previous convictions for stealing goods and driving whilst disqualified, leading up to a driving ban and prison sentence in 2011, but submitted possible excuses for his misbehaviour and for having a knife on his person.

She said: "His nephew passed away suddenly earlier this year - he was like a son to him and this massively affected him. He said 'I went off the rails', he was very stressed and relapsed into drug misuse. Before his relapse, he had been drug-free for four years.

"The knife had been a present from his partner which she gave him for when he goes fishing.

"He is remorseful for his actions and was reckless but didn't intend to hurt anyone."

Mark Glendenning, defending, said: "No-one is more disappointed than him, he apologised unreservedly and had no intention to do harm."

Chairman of the bench Amanda Lee gave Hicks an 18-month community order with 20 rehabilitation requirements, a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement with a monthly court review, and an electronically-tagged curfew from 9pm to 7am for three months.

Miss Lee also ordered Hicks to pay £400 in costs plus £50 in compensation to each assault victim.