A THIEF assaulted a sales assistant as she escorted him back to the shop where she had seen him filling his pockets with perfume, a court was told.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Ian Crossland had escaped with one lot of scent but returned 15 minutes later for a second haul.

This time he was chased from the shop with bottles and boxes spilling from his pockets before he was detained.

Crossland, 26, of Islington, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to assaulting Rachel Lamb, obstructing a police officer and theft from Boots on Sunday and theft of gift sets worth £96 from Debenhams on Monday.

He was remanded in custody for the preparation of a pre-sentence report with a warning that custody was the first consideration.

Peter Wild, prosecuting, said that when Miss Lamb and a colleague detained Crossland they began walking him back to the store.

He suddenly grabbed her arm and pushed her away before running off.

Michael Blacklidge, defending, said his client had already served a couple of prison sentences this year for similar offences and the latest were born out of "desperate straits."

"He is dependant on drugs and takes whatever he can afford to buy," said Mr Blacklidge.

"Over the last two days he has gone to considerable lengths to try and finance his addiction and he realises how serious things have become."