A MAN who threatened security staff at Merry Hill shopping centre with a knife after he was caught stealing more than £470 worth of goods from two stores has been spared further jail time.

Mark Rushton, of no fixed address, stole cosmetics worth £214 from Boots and then went into Debenham’s where he took cosmetics worth £265, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

But the 36-year-old drug addict was spotted by security staff and when two men tried to apprehend him he produced the knife and threatened them with the weapon - Howard Searle, prosecuting, told the court.

He said Rushton then ran onto one of the car parks at the centre but was quickly arrested as police officers arrived.

Rushton admitted two charges of theft and possessing a bladed article and he was given an 18-month jail term, suspended for two years.

He was further placed on supervision for two years and told by Judge Martin Walsh it was clear his drug addiction had been behind the offending.

The judge added: "That is an explanation not an excuse.”

And he ruled it was in the interests of the public for Rushton to receive assistance for his problems rather than more time in custody.

Heidi Kubik, defending, said Rushton had been in custody since his arrest on New Years Eve, adding: “He knows the time has come for him to clean the slate and to get on with his life.”