A SHOPLIFTER who stuffed cream cakes in his pocket threatened to stab a member of staff, a court heard.

Junaid Iqbal, of Cuckoo Lane, Prestwich, had gone to the Tesco store at Woodfield retail park, Bury, in the early hours of January 31 with a woman who was banned from the shop.

When store staff stopped them, they noticed 19-year-old Iqbal had a two-litre bottle of orange hidden down his trousers.

"He offered to pay, claiming he had nowhere else to hold his bottle," Kate Hammond, prosecuting, told Bolton Crown Court on Friday.

But staff then saw Iqbal had a packet of cream cakes in his pocket.

"He became aggressive and threatened to stab a member of staff," said Miss Hammond.

It took five people to subdue Iqbal, who was carrying a Stanley knife and one man was slightly injured.

Iqbal pleaded guilty to theft and possessing a knife.

Stuart Duke, defending Iqbal, said he is a young man from a good family who are ashamed of his actions.

"He had lost his way and was drinking a bottle of brandy a day and combining it with cannabis," said Mr Duke.

He stressed that Iqbal had no intention of using the knife.

"It was drunken bravado," he said.

Sentencing him to an intensive 12 month community order, Recorder Andrew Loveridge told Iqbal: "The anti-social behaviour, the criminality in which you have engaged, has to stop otherwise you will return repeatedly to this court."

Iqbal was made subject to supervision for 12 months, must do 100 hours unpaid work, with a three-month electronically tagged curfew.

He must also take part in drug and alcohol prevention and employment sessions.