A racist man headbutted a shopkeeper after being told to leave because he was barred, before threatening to “slice up” a female police officer and kill her.

Craig Lloyd, who was drunk at the time of the incident, had been barred from the One Stop in Darwen because of something that had happened on a previous occasion, Preston Crown Court heard.

However, the 32-year-old entered the shop on November 3 and made his way over to the alcohol section where he tried to pick up a four pack of beer.

Prosecuting, William Donnelly said the shopkeeper followed Lloyd and asked him to put the beer back and told him to leave.

Mr Donnelly told the court: “At that stage Craig Lloyd began to make threats and, as the shopkeeper described, got ‘up in his face’, and then racially abused him.

“There were other people in the shop and the shopkeeper asked his wife to call 999.

“A lady was in there with her child, who was becoming upset at Lloyd’s actions, so she pushed the defendant out of the shop, as she had had enough of his behaviour.

“Lloyd then came back into the shop and headbutted the shopkeeper in the face and followed that with a punch.

“The lady who first intervened, intervened again and helped out and stopped the incident at that stage.”

Mr Donnelly said the defendant tried to get back into the shop once more, but the shopkeeper pulled the shutters down.

The police attended and located Lloyd in a nearby pub.

They took him outside and arrested him which is when he continued to be abusive.

Mr Donnelly went on: “He told one of the officers he was going to 'slice her up and kill her' and called her a 'f***ing bitch'.

“He also tried to bite another officer and made contact with his thumb as he was put into the police car.”

Lloyd, previously of Bridge Street, Darwen, has 20 convictions for 34 offences.

After being apprehended for this offence, he was recalled to prison because of a previous conviction for another racially aggravated public order for which he was jailed in April this year.

He pleaded guilty to racially aggravated threatening behaviour and assaulting an emergency worker.

Mitigating for Lloyd, who appeared via video link from HMP Liverpool, Neil Howard said his client accepted he had escalated the incident and told the court all of Lloyd’s offending was repetitive.

READ MORE: Darwen man climbed on roof and hurled racist abuse at people

Jailing Lloyd for 10 months, Judge Darren Preston said: “Shopkeepers and police officers do difficult jobs and work hard.

“They are public facing jobs which put them in vulnerable positions. They are needed to be protected by the courts from people like you who would have had too much to drink.

“You are 32 and have an appalling record and it’s clear that your record is for offences of thorough nuisance.

“You are a man who drinks and when you drink you seem to change your personality.

“It’s not impossible to think that one day you could make something of your life, and you have expressed a genuine desire to improve yourself.

“You have said that before though, so one must read that with a certain level of scepticism.”

As he is already serving time for being recalled to prison, Lloyd’s sentence will expire in March.

He was also made subject to a three year restraining order banning him from entering the One Stop shop on Church Street in Darwen.