A man has been jailed after he abused and threatened restaurant staff before helping himself to food from behind the counter.

Lee Brown, aged 33-year-old and of no fixed address, entered the Trenchers restaurant at around 5pm on Friday, January 13.

He threatened and abused staff at the venue before helping himself to food from behind the counter.

Police were called at around 5.05pm by staff and concerned customers who first thought a robbery was taking place.

Officers arrived at the scene and Brown had been arrested and was on his way to police custody by 5.13pm.

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While being held in custody, he continued to act in a volatile and abusive manner and he assaulted six police officers.

Brown was charged with theft of food, using threatening and abusive language with the intent to cause fear and six charged of assaulting an emergency worker.

He appeared in court where he pleaded guilty to all charges and was handed a 32-week prison sentence and ordered to pay compensation to his victims.

Detective superintendent Graeme Wright, commander for Scarborough and Ryedale said: “This was a really upsetting and alarming incident for the staff and customers of the restaurant to witness on a Sunday afternoon in Whitby.

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 “I’d like to thank them for their swift action reporting it to police, which enabled officers to attend and quickly make the situation safe by arresting Brown.

“Sadly, when taken to the police station Brown continued to act in a volatile and abusive manner and went on to assault a number of officers as they carried out their duties ensuring he was safe when in custody – spitting and urinating on them when they conducted safety checks.

“I hope the speed with which Brown has been dealt with and put behind bars sends a clear message that we will not tolerate any threats or acts of violence against members of the public or the dedicated officers who work so hard to keep our community safe.”