Shoppers had to duck for cover in a Chelsea supermarket when an irate Frenchman hurled cheese at the manager.

Angry Bernard Conche, 67, picked up three packs of Camembert and threw them at store manager Kimberley Taynor, 31, at Waitrose in the Kings Road, a court heard.

Conche also reportedly rammed his trolley into a shop worker and into Ms Taynor’s ankle.

Security guard Shah Nawaz, 33, was also kicked in the stomach as he tried to stop Conche from throwing the French delicacy across the aisles.

Police were called and when officers arrived, PC Jonathon Stanley was kicked in the chest as he tried to put Conche, from Putney, into a police van, Hammersmith Magistrates' Court heard.

The Frenchman was convicted of two counts of assault by beating and assaulting a police officer.

Despite attending court for part of the trial, Conche did not appear in the dock after he objected to the Crown’s evidence and disappeared from the court building.

A warrant has been issued for his arrest to allow sentencing to take place at a later date.