Nottingham: Man threatened victims with scissors and padlock

Sam Sharpe's actions were described as "completely unacceptable" by police

A man who threatened victims with scissors and a padlock has been jailed.

Sam Sharpe, 27, chased an individual with a pair of scissors outside Nottingham's Victoria Centre and pressed a padlock against the forehead of a Sainsbury's worker.

The incidents were one month apart, police said, and resulted in Sharpe being jailed for 18 months at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday.

Nottinghamshire Police described his actions as "completely unacceptable".

Sharpe was sitting close to the entrance to the Victoria Centre, in Milton Street, when he was approached by another man and an argument broke out between the pair at 00:30 BST on 12 September.

Sharpe, of no fixed address, brandished a pair of scissors and charged at the man while making slashing motions in the air, police said.

The incident continued for several minutes before the victim left the scene.

After Sharpe's arrest, police realised he was a suspect in a similar incident a few weeks earlier, on 17 August.

Police realised Sharpe was involved in a separate incident after arresting him in September last year

At 08:55 on that day, Sharpe walked into a Sainsbury's store in Derby Road, Lenton, and threatened to damage the shop and assault people inside.

He then squared up to a staff member and pushed a padlock he was carrying against their forehead while threatening to hurt them with the weapon. The victims were not injured in the incidents, police confirmed.

Sharpe admitted charges of possessing a knife blade/sharp-pointed article in a public place and assault by beating.

He was handed an 18-month prison sentence when he appeared in court.

Following the sentence, Det Sgt Paul Crofts said: "The kind of violent behaviour demonstrated by Sharpe during both these incidents has absolutely no place within our communities and will not be tolerated."