The CCTV footage shows Amine Ahnini being restrained after returning the food he had stolen guardian.co.uk

A teenage asylum seeker has said he feared he was going to die after he was pinned to the ground, grabbed around the neck and restrained by five people in a Sainsbury's supermarket after he stole a sandwich.

Amine Ahnini, from Algeria, who was 18 at the time of the incident in May last year, was challenged by a security guard as he left the Canterbury store with a sandwich and a few other food items. He admitted he had not paid for them, saying he was starving and had no money.

While there are no official figures, Data is not routinely collected but there is anecdotal evidence from charities and police forces that there has been a rise in thefts linked to hunger.

Ahnini agreed to go back into the store with the guard and return the items. CCTV footage shows that after he had put the food down the guard grabbed him and pushed him to the ground. Other employees and a member of the public helped the guard restrain him. The guard said he acted because he feared the 18-year-old was going to assault him.

"The security guard had his hands around my neck, I couldn't breathe and thought I was dying," said Ahnini. "My arms and legs were pinned down so I couldn't move. All I could think about was getting the guard's hands off my neck so I could breathe again so I bit his hand."

Police were called and arrested Ahnini. He was convicted of theft and assault by Canterbury magistrates last November and in December was ordered to do community service, pay £100 compensation to the guard and £250 towards court costs. He is appealing against the convictions.

The prosecution's case was that Ahnini became aggressive when challenged by the guard, threatened him and pushed him. Ahnini denies this.

When police viewed the CCTV footage their log states: "The IP [injured party] is shown to use force to pick up and throw the suspect to the floor and appears to show the IP is holding the suspect around the neck as he alleges." A later police log entry states: "It is felt that a further statement would be required from the IP as the original one is of insufficient detail in terms of the justification for the level of force used etc." Police took photographs of the injuries to Ahnini's neck at the police station. He said he collapsed at the police station and was checked over by a custody nurse who said he was all right.

He added: "I suffered a lot of trauma in Algeria and have a very big scar on my neck from an accident I had while trying to escape from there. I've been given medication to help me with this trauma but I get very nervous when people touch me. When the security guard put his hands round my neck I was scared the scar would open up again. My parents were arrested and taken away in Algeria and I had a lot of nightmares about it. The nightmares had faded but since this incident they have come back and I'm getting flashbacks about what happened to me when I was restrained.

"I stole the food because I was starving and had no idea all these bad things would happen. I don't even have enough money to eat so don't know how I'm going to pay the money the court has asked for. If I'd known all this was going to happen I never would have done this. It would have been better to starve."

Vaughan Jones, chief executive of Praxis, a charity working with vulnerable migrants, expressed concern about the incident and said that an increasing number of their clients were experiencing hunger and using food banks.

"No one would condone anyone committing crime but we have to understand the circumstances of people who find themselves in this situation. The state should be able to deal sensitively with these cases but increasingly the state is bypassing its duty and its responsibility."

A Sainsbury's spokeswoman said: "Where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that someone has taken goods without paying in-store security officers and store colleagues have a statutory right to stop that person. In some circumstances – and always when violence has been used – the police may also be called. The police will then decide whether, given the evidence, it is in the public interest to prosecute. In this case, the offender was prosecuted, and was found guilty of assault and theft. "

Sainsbury's employs security guards trained and licensed by the Security Industry Authority. However, they do not receive training in physical intervention. (Door supervisors for businesses such as pubs and clubs licensed by the authority do have this training.)

An SIA spokesman said "only training packages which avoid the neck are approved by us".

He added: "Any forceful restraint can lead to medical complications, sudden death or permanent disability especially where situational and individual risk factors are present. Although some of the above is lawful, under certain circumstances, such interventions will require high levels of justification and training."

Asked about Ahnini's treatment in custody, a Kent police spokesman said: "Generally speaking, all our custody staff are fully trained professionals and work to a set of high standards. Kent police follows strict custody guidelines and is subject to regular internal and external inspections. We deal with all injury and illness cases according to risk to ensure those in need of urgent medical attention receive the most appropriate response.

With regard to the police's request for a further statement from Sainsbury's to justify the level of force used on Ahnini, the police spokesman said: "It is not necessarily common practice to ask witnesses to complete additional statements, but is perfectly reasonable to expect a supervisor to seek to get the best evidence for every allegation of a criminal offence. Sometimes this means additional statements are taken."