A “stupid” blade-wielding meat thief who screamed “I’ll slash you up” towards Marks and Spencer foodhall staff during a crime spree has been jailed.

Daniel Martin, of Ashford, swept through five of the town’s shops stealing roasting joints, clothes and cosmetics, between February and April.

But when staff at the Warren Retail Park store grabbed the 38-year-old as he tried to flee with wine and food the situation turned sinister.

The construction worker was handed 11 months custody while appearing at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday.

The court heard Martin, who has 22 convictions for 77 offences, set off on a one-man crime wave to help fund a crack cocaine addiction at the beginning of this year.

Martin fled with between 10-12 joints of meat from Aldi in Victoria Road in February, with his criminality swiftly escalating.

In March, the thief stole hundreds of pounds worth of clothes from Next in County Square, laundry gear from B&M in high street, alongside Ted Baker gift sets from nearby Boots.

And after being arrested and released on police bail Martin armed himself with a “small knife” before targeting the M&S off Simone Weil Avenue in April, the court heard.

Martin drew the blade and shouted “I’ll slash you up,” when staff members Kourimska Slavka and Mehmet Haydon challenged him, prosecutor Stuart Dingle said.

Following his re-arrest Martin pleaded guilty to six counts of shoplifting and two counts of threatening another with a blade at the earliest opportunity.

Addressing the judge on Monday from HMP Elmley remotely, the-father-to-be said: “It was a stupid idiot mistake - I regret it massively.

“I’m begging you, literally, if there’s any way you can punish me other than a custodial (sentence), so I can be there for my daughter and partner.”

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“I’ve been doing petty crime all of my life - I mean I want to change.”

Mitigating, Nicholas Hamblin said Martin had struggled with alcohol addiction and more recently a crack cocaine habit.

He argued Martin had worked to address his issues but returned to thieving after being evicted and turning to drugs in a “spiral of decline.”

Martin is soon to be a father, he added.

“All of the sudden the landlord decided to evict everybody and he became homeless.

“He ended up staying with a number of people who he met in prison and to his shame he became a user of crack cocaine,” Mr Hamblin continued.

Handing down an 11 month sentence, Recorder John Bate-Williams, dubbed Martin’s criminal record “very substantial.”

“You left the store without paying holding three laden bags, you were challenged by staff and there was a tussle, you then produced a knife and threatened staff members,” he added.

“It’s clear they were significantly affected by your actions; they were anxious and extremely fearful.”

Martin, of Church Road, will have time already served on remand deducted from his sentence.