An Asian shopkeeper was racially abused after he refused to allow a customer to drink alcohol in his shop, a court heard.

Dean Robert White was near the counter when Manjit Singh told another man not to drink from a bottle of booze he had just bought in his convenience store in Clyde Terrace, Spennymoor, County Durham, at 9.30am on August 28 last year.

Durham Crown Court heard that White, on home release from an open prison, took exception and became abusive, using derogatory racist abuse.

A clash developed between the pair after Mr Singh tried to usher White from the premises and both fell while grappling.

White, 25, of Tudhoe Moor, Spennymoor, who was recalled to custody to continue serving his previous sentence as a result of this incident, denied racially aggravated assault and criminal damage, claiming he acted only in self defence.

But, on the day of his scheduled trial, today he admitted a new charge of causing racially aggravated fear or provocation of violence.

David Crook, prosecuting, said the plea was "acceptable" to the Crown and offered 'no evidence' on the other two charges.

Mr Crook said: "If the defendant left when asked to do so, none of the following incident would have happened."

The court heard that White was given an indeterminate prison sentence, with a recommended minimum of 30-months behind bars, for wounding with intent following a craft knife attack on another drinker in a Spennymoor pub in 2005.

Graeme Gaston, for White, told the court: "He's serving a prison sentence and knows custody is inevitable for this.

"He has a parole hearing on February 1, but it's not clear what the outcome will be.

"It's pretty clear he wasn't at that shop causing trouble. He was standing quietly, but got into an argument and his behaviour got out of hand.

"Thankfully the incident was short-lived."

Recorder Neil Davey jailed White for two months, to run alongside the existing sentence for which he has been recalled to prison.