A DRUNKEN man has been convicted of shoplifting after being stopped by security guards as he fled.

Mark Storey was left battered and bruised after he was apprehended after dumping an upper body workout kit outside Boots in Stockton High Street.

The 37-year-old, of Carmel Gardens, Norton, Stockton, told Teesside Magistrates Court that he was drunk when he walked out of the shop and didnt intend to steal the goods.

Prosecutor Graham Jacobs told the court that the defendant was followed by Andrew Worthy, a security guard at Boots, before he was stopped by John Porter, a security guard from another shop, in the Ramsgate area of Stockton.

In his defence, Storey accepted he has taken the goods but when he realised what he was doing he dropped the 30 piece of gym equipment in June last year.

The court heard he made admissions while in police custody.

However, his solicitor, Lee Goodchild said: "When he was put into custody he had significant injuries, three of his teeth had been knocked out, one way or another.

"We would say he wasnt happy in custody and wanted to be out as quickly as possible because of his injuries."

District Judge Kristina Harrison found Storey guilty of the shop theft fining him £150 and ordering him to pay £250 towards court costs.