Jailed: 'Aggressive' Wolverhampton drunk bit uncle's thumb 'down to the bone' and punched policewoman in the face in Telford corner shop rampage

Dreece Bateman, aged 28, went on a booze-fuelled rampage in Premier Stores, Queens Road, Donnington, Telford, after staff refused to let him take items without paying.

Shrewsbury Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of Bateman’s uncle and his uncle’s partner arriving at the shop at around 7pm on June 6 last year to try and diffuse the situation, only for Bateman to lose his temper in violent fashion.

He went to hug his uncle, using the opportunity to try and bite his face. When his uncle tried to push him away, Bateman bit his thumb, causing an open wound which went “down to the bone”. He also landed punches and kicks.

Bateman’s uncle’s partner fell underneath the pair as they wrestled on the floor, sustaining an injury to the back of her head. She could be seen on the footage doubled over in pain, leaning on a sweetie counter, with stock and baskets strewn all over the shop floor.

Bateman then ran outside, threatening: “I’ll get a knife.” He returned within seconds with a knife, which had a 5-6in blade.

“She was so frightened,” prosecutor Suzanne Francis said of Bateman’s uncle’s partner. Bateman’s uncle ran home and, on his way, could see that Bateman had used the knife to stab his car, leaving dents and smashed windows.