A WOMAN felt frightened and intimidated when approached by a man asking for money on a Blackburn town centre car park.

And Blackburn magistrates were told it was not the first time John Michael Hosty had been convicted of similar offences.

Hosty, 29, of the Islington Motel, Great Bolton Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to obtaining 70p by deception from Valerie Ormerod, theft of a pair of track suit bottoms from JJB and possession of a lock-knife in a public place. He was jailed for a total of six months after the magistrates revoked a combination community punishment and rehabilitation order made in June.

The chairman said the car park incident was very intimidating.

Clare Fanning, prosecuting, said Mrs Ormerod had just left her car on the Alma Street car park when she was approached by Hosty, who said he had run out of petrol and needed six or seven pounds to get back to Bolton.

"Mrs Ormerod was extremely frightened and the defendant must have known that because he kept saying that he wasn't trying to frighten her," said Miss Fanning.

Mrs Ormerod eventually gave Hosty 70p. The court was told that the combination order imposed in June 2003 had been completely ignored . Clare Knight, defending, said all Hosty's offending was due to a heroin problem .