A YOUTH helped himself to stock from a small convenience store while a frightened shop assistant looked on, a court heard.

Lee Stockton, 19, was yesterday sent to a young offenders' institution for a year.

A judge at Durham Crown Court heard how he made a threatening gesture to the teenage assistant days before the thefts.

Stockton appeared outside Amber's, in Fox Street, Seaham, County Durham, at about 9.30pm on May 21, carrying a machete, shouting: "Tell Barry that is what he will get," referring to owner Barry Dhesi.

The 19-year-old male assistant on duty at the time knew Stockton.

Stockton appeared at the shop several times during the following days, helping himself to stock from the shelves, each time when the same assistant was on duty.

Jane Waugh, prosecuting, said: "The Crown would say that he knew the assistant wouldn't stop him because he was frightened of him.

"Eventually, the owner had a look on the shop's CCTV, and could see Stockton clearly taking goods."

When arrested, Stockton admitted taking food and drink from the shop, but told officers he did not think he could be "done for it".

The court heard he had a record of previous convictions for theft and one of robbery.

Stockton, of Fern Crescent, Seaham, admitted possessing an offensive weapon, the machete, on May 21, and six counts of theft, all between May 24 and 26.

Jamie Adams, mitigating, said that having viewed the police video, the assistant did not appear to him to have been intimidated.

He added that Stockton had settled down since the incidents and was in a steady relationship with a supportive girlfriend.

Imposing the custodial sentence, Recorder Ian Thorp said the assistant was "clearly intimidated" by the machete incident, allowing Stockton to effectively help himself to goods from the shop.