A customer whose bad behaviour led to him being escorted from a Carlisle supermarket sat down in protest and refused to move, a court heard.

Darren Roderick Lawson, 47, continued to be aggressive, even after police officers arrived at the Church Street store on June 21, because staff were concerned about his behaviour and thought he was drunk.

At the city’s Rickergate Magistrates’ Court, the defendant, of Stonegarth, Morton, Carlisle, denied being drunk but he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Prosecutor John Moran accepted that alternative plea.

Outlining the case, Mr Moran said staff called in police after concluding Lawson’s behaviour in the Sainsbury's store was aggressive.

The lawyer said: “Police confirmed that he had become argumentative.

“He was being escorted from the store but then sat down on the floor, and continued to be aggressive towards the police.

“His manner was described by the police as being threatening.

“It caused alarm to the staff in the store and to the other people who were present.”

Addressing the court, the defendant, who represented himself, said he had suffered an injury while being arrested by the police.

He told District Judge Gerald Chalk that an internal police investigation was now underway into how he was treated during the arrest process. He admitted: “I was cheeky with a security officer.

“A girl said she wouldn’t serve me alcohol because I already stank of alcohol. I’ve just come out of the services from Afghanistan.”

At one stage during the hearing, Lawson told the judge that he should be careful, suggesting he would take his complaint against the police no further if the judge agreed to “drop” the prosecution.

The court clerk asked the defendant – who said he had a girlfriend working for the police – to show respect to the court and the district judge.

Judge Chalk imposed a £40 fine, with £85 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge.

He told Lawson he had no jurisdiction over the defendant’s complaint against the police as that was not a case before him.

If it were before him, he would deal with it, said the judge.

The defendant said: “I’m not going to say I’m sorry for what I said to the security guard. He was out of line. I wasn’t drunk.”

As he left court, the defendant continued to protest, telling the judge: “Get a grip on life.”