A man who threw bottles and spat at police inside a Machynlleth supermarket has been jailed.

Cameron Hearne, 25, caused £5,000 worth of damage and threw bottles of alcohol at police officers trying to arrest him at the Co-op store.

Hearne, of Bryn y Gôg, admitted burglary, criminal damage and assaulting two emergency workers.

He was jailed for 42 weeks and ordered to pay £140 compensation.

Sophie Hill, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court how on 13 November Hearne approached staff as they prepared to open the store at 6am.

He was told it wasn’t open yet but he still went inside and pushed numerous bottles of alcohol off the shelves before sitting down.

Staff from outside saw Hearne go behind the till area and remove cartons of cigarettes before trying, unsuccessfully, to get into a till.

Miss Hill said Hearne broke more bottles before sitting down and smoking a cigarette.

When police arrived he threw bottles and cans at them and had to be tasered, but he still managed to spit on two of the officers.

Miss Hill said just five months earlier Hearne had been convicted of assaulting two emergency workers, again by spitting on them.

Hearne’s barrister, Paul Hobson, said he had taken two different drugs before walking to the store.

Fortunately, he said, no-one was actually injured.

Judge Nicola Jones told Hearne: “This is extremely disturbing. You were clearly intoxicated by something, and on being told the store was still closed you began to ransack it.

“And that was followed by a sustained attack on the police.”

Judge Jones said she noted Hearne was now banned from the town’s Co-op.

She said the compensation order did not match the damage caused but there was no real prospect of getting any more from him.