Shoplifter strangled Asda security guard who tried to stop him stealing Pringles crisps from Morley store

Nathan Frier grappled with several members of staff at the Asda shop in Morley, before locking his hands around the throat of the security guard.

He was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week, where it was heard had previous convictions for violence.

The 28-year-old entered the Howley Park Road superstore on June 10, picked up the items worth £33 and tried to leave without paying.

He was confronted by the store manager and a member of the public and they struggled, falling to the ground.

The security guard rushed to help and Frier was escorted back into the store, but he struggled and began to choke the worker, before other staff members helped drag him off.

Having been arrested, during his interview he admitted having the items but claimed he had not left the store, and that he was only acting in self defence.

Frier, of Albert Drive, Morley, eventually admitted theft and intentional strangulation. He has 20 previous convictions for 35 offences, including four counts of assaults on emergency workers.

A probation report found that despite his guilty plea, he maintained there was an element of self defence.

Frier said he was homeless at the time of the offence, and was drinking heavily. He was now employed as a warehouse operative.

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Mitigating, Lily Wildman said he was living with his mother who had warned him about his drinking, and he was now abstaining.

Judge Christopher Batty jailed him for 21 months.

He said: “I’m afraid you have to go custody - you have a history of kicking off when challenged.

“You were in the wrong that day. It’s the fifth time you have assaulted someone trying to detain you.”