A THIEF bit a security guard on the leg after he was caught shoplifting children’s knickers and vests.

Dale O’Brien was well-known to the security guards at Matalan, Warrington Crown Court heard on Monday, and when they saw him enter the store on September 9 last year they decided to follow him.

One guard watched him grab handfuls of children’s clothes and stuff them into a rucksack before zipping it shut and walking out of the shop.

The guard caught him just outside the store entrance, and with the help of a colleague marched him to the manager’s office.

There they found £69 worth of children’s underwear and vests which 31-year-old O’Brien, of Leicester Street in Bewsey, admitted he was going to sell on.

He tried to escape the guards by asking for a glass of water and running at the guard, trying to force his way out of the room while the second guard was out.

Upon hearing the footsteps of the second guard approching, he went back and sat down and remained calm until the telephone rang, an interruption he used to push his way between the two guards and out of the office.

The two caught him, and he elbowed the second guard and continued to struggle against the first.

It was then he bit him above the knee, keeping his jaw clamped for 10 to 15 seconds and drawing blood from the man’s leg.

O’Brien was captured and restrained until police arrived.

In interview, he blamed the security staff for trying to restrain him, the court heard, but admitted stealing the clothes to sell on.

O’Brien has a history littered with convictions for drugs matters and thefts, but his barrister Simon Berkson said he had been addressing his problems.

“Time has moved on since September 2008 when this offence took place. It does not appear he’s been in any significant trouble in that time,” he said.

Judge Stephen Clarke told O’Brien that any prison sentence he could impose would be so short that it would serve only to disrupt progress he had already made.

He handed down a community order with a 12-month supervision requirement and 12-month drug rehabilitation order.