A drunk man racially assaulted and punched a security guard after he was thrown out of a Canterbury supermarket.

John Bate, of the city's Pine Tree Avenue, went into Tesco Metro on June 29 at about 9.30pm to buy some wine.

But he became frustrated as the self-service checkout machine was not working properly.

He then started shouting and became abusive towards staff member Lauren Donnachie, yelling: "I should have gone to Sainsbury's or Marks and Spencer."

Margate Magistrates' Court heard how security guard Kevin Richardson then came over and took the wine from Bate, as he was inebriated and slurring his words.

Staff refused to serve him and he was asked to leave, but he put up a struggle, insisting he was "not drunk."

Once outside, Mr Richardson then had to physically hold the door shut to prevent Bate from re-entering the shop.

He was swearing and shouting and called Mr Richardson a "bloody African".

Bate, 47, who lives off an inheritance payment from his mother, then became increasingly abusive and hit Mr Richardson in the head.

In a victim statement read out in court by prosecution solicitor Neil Sweeney, Mr Richardson said: "Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.

"I was just doing my job - we do not sell alcohol to drunk people. It did not give him the right to act like that. I had not received abuse like that before - he was acting very aggressively."

Before the incident, magistrates heard how Bate had been in Wetherspoon drinking spirits.

Defence solicitor Ian Bond said his client was remorseful.

"There is a long history of depression and anxiety and in 2016 he was diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum," he said.

"He is engaged with mental health services and has been out of trouble for a number of years. This was an isolated incident."

A recent change in depression medication was said to have produced an adverse effect, exacerbating his condition, which prompted Bate to self-medicate with alcohol.

Bate pleaded guilty to racially aggravated assault and use of threatening language to cause distress.

The court ordered him to attend rehabilitation over the next 12 months.

He was also told to pay compensation of £50 to Miss Donnachie and £100 to Mr Richardson.