A shoplifter told a cage-fighting Bexleyheath security guard he would “cut his head off” after being caught thieving, a court heard.

Hamza Zaki, 23, was spotted stealing a £25 memory stick, which he had hidden in his hood, from Asda, in Graham Road, on June 26 last year.

When security staff stopped him, Zaki, who suffers from schizophrenia, shouted abuse including how he would stab them “so your guts are in the street”, Bromley Magistrates’ Court heard.

Zaki, of Passfield Drive, Tower Hamlets, was given a community penalty for six months at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on March 18 for theft and a public order offence.

He previously admitted the theft and was found guilty of using threatening words to cause harassment, alarm or distress at Greenwich Magistrates’ Court on January 14.

Prosecuting, Jonathan Efemini told the court: “The defendant said ‘get out of my f***ing way.

“You are lucky this is not in the street, otherwise I would have cut your head off.

“I would stab you in the belly so your guts are in the street, I am going to cut your f***ing throat.

“When questioned over the threat of violence, he stated security guards were aggressive.

“When pushed further he said he couldn’t remember this matter.”

Defending Sean Longley, said Zaki was on antipsychotic drugs at the time and side-effects include a loss of memory.

He said: “One of the symptoms is what is called a lack of insight.

“He finds it very difficult to talk about the symptoms of his illness.

“The threats are not anything you would expect to be carried through, but an over-reaction to what he felt was an over-zealous approach.”

He went on to say one security guard was a cage fighter who might not have felt very threatened by the abuse.

Zaki was ordered to attend a structured supervision programme for six months.

He will also have to pay a victim surcharge of £60 and a contribution to court costs of £100.