A thug who attacked a shopper and stole his groceries in a supermarket car park has been jailed.

Warren Blewitt, who is in his 30s, was set upon as he left the Aldi store in Hardres Road, Ramsgate, in the early evening of February 16 this year.

After Mr Blewitt went to speak with a woman he knew in the car park, Paul Jackson, who lives in the town, approached him from behind.

Jackson, 36, grabbed Mr Blewitt’s hood and “pulled it over his face and eyes, and immediately punched him in his face”, prosecutor Naomi Edwards said.

“While the defendant held the hood over Mr Blewitt’s head he put down the shopping bag.

“When the punching stopped the shopping bag had disappeared, as had the woman and this defendant.”

Jackson, who appeared in court remotely from HMP Elmley, was handed nine months custody at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday after admitting theft and causing actual bodily harm.

The court heard Mr Blewitt shortly after the attack was treated by paramedics for a nosebleed and facial swelling in the car park, where CCTV captured the incident.

Following his arrest, Jackson, who has 22 convictions for 75 offences, claimed Mr Blewitt was the aggressor but later admitted his actions before trial.

Representing Jackson, Phil Rowley said he has battled a drug addiction since the death of a family member.

And he argued through Mr Rowley he is known to Mr Blewitt, with the assault stemming from a dispute over his girlfriend.

Jackson, who used to be employed working on tracks for Network Rail, was handed a five-year restraining order.

He was also ordered to compensate Mr Blewitt £13 for the shopping.

Judge Mark Weekes told Jackson, of Clements Road, he had amassed a “very unattractive history of previous convictions, dating back some 15 years or so".

“If you don’t get yourself off drugs you will continue to be before the courts - you may very well end up dead by your misuse of drugs..."

“Mr Blewitt, who was going about his business having obtained some goods at the Aldi store, was set upon by you," he said.

“You then took from him the items he purchased.

“If you don’t get yourself off drugs you will continue to be before the courts - you may very well end up dead by your misuse of drugs,” he said.

Jackson was originally charged with robbery however, the Crown Prosecution Service later accepted guilty pleas to the lesser charges.