A DRUG addict detained for shoplifting threatened security staff with a used needle.

Anthony Meredith, aged 32, used keys on another security guard, resulting in him sustaining a broken finger.

Mr Ian Whitehurst, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said Meredith was on bail when he stole two bottles of Bacardi from Asda at Lancaster in January.

He then tried to leave without paying and two security officers attempted to stop him. Meredith became violent and struggled as he tried to escape. They all ended up on the floor with the bottles of alcohol smashed. He was then taken to a security office where he threatened staff with chairs.

He calmed down and again tried to leave. Producing a needle, he told staff: "I'm going. I've got a needle and I'll stab you." During the struggle Meredith tried to stab staff with the needle. One staff member, David Rabbich, sustained a broken finger when a set of keys were rammed into his hand. Meredith, of no fixed address, was committed for sentence for theft and affray. He also admitted to theft of two benefit cheques, each for £75. They had arrived for someone else while he had been residing in Prospect Street, Lancaster. Meredith admitted using a false instrument and obtaining by deception when one cheque was paid into his account and the second was cashed by a Lancaster pub landlady.

In addition, Meredith also admitted to two counts of theft from two stores in November and December of 1998. Each time he was caught on CCTV. Miss Sharon Watson, defending, said Meredith had had a drug test while in prison and it was negative. He had found his partner in distressing circumstances and was asked to leave the house that they shared. Meredith lost his job, and could not cope, having nowhere to live. He began taking heroin again and committed offences to fund his habit. Meredith refused to accept that he threatened to stab staff. He was suffering from withdrawal and panicked because he knew he would not get bail. The defendant was jailed for a total of 21 months. Recorder Alistair Webster QC told him his behaviour with the needle was absolutely inexcusable.

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