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A racist thug who punched a shopkeeper, smashed his door and threw beer over him has jailed.

Drunken yob Lee Francis Wilson proclaimed: “I’m a white Boro lad” during the sickening onslaught.

He picked up a sandwich, took a bite and threw the remains at the shopkeeper in Zak’s newsagent’s, on Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough.

Wilson, 41, got aggressive, shouting, tensing himself up and hurling chocolate bars at the shop worker, Teesside Crown Court heard.

He picked up a bottle of whisky and some cigarette papers from behind the counter and punched and broke the glass in the shop door.

He then punched the shopkeeper 10 to 12 times to the head while shouting racist abuse, said prosecutor Rachel Masters.

He also picked up a can of lager, took a sip and threw the rest over the shopkeeper.

A passing motorist saw a crowd gathered outside, stopped and intervened to protect the frightened, bloody-nosed victim.

Wilson told the good Samaritan: “I’m a white Boro lad” He then swore at the man as he asked: “What are you?”

He carried on being abusive until another passer-by pulled him to the floor, and he spouted racist language when police arrived.

The shopkeeper was so scared and visibly shaken, he moved behind a police officer as his assailant shouted and slurred.

Wilson’s foul-mouthed racist rants and threats continued en route to the police station where he protested: “I’ve done nowt wrong.”

The victim of the attack later said he was upset and distressed. Nothing like this had happened to him before and he now felt vulnerable working in the shop alone.

Wilson, of Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, admitted racially aggravated assault and racially aggravated damage to property from the early evening of July 15.

He had 32 previous offences on his long record including a suspended sentence for racially aggravated assault in Manchester in 2011.

Robert Mochrie, defending, said: “On the back of his record of previous convictions, this behaviour merits nothing other than immediate custody.”

He said Wilson had a troubled life and upbringing. He was in care at a young age and got into a pattern of offending, custody and release.

Wilson had made positive steps tackling his drug use, showed he could “put to bed some evils in his life” but needed to get to grips with his alcohol problem.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, said Wilson could stay out of trouble, as he did between 2001 and 2007, but his problem was drink.

He told Wilson: “You were out of control. When you sobered up and woke up and realised what you’d done I’m sure you were astonished.

“That can’t be an excuse. The fact you were in drink is an aggravating factor. Those who run shops in this town deserve protection, and that’s particularly so for those who run small newsagent’s because they provide a service to the local community.”

Wilson was jailed for four months.

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