A BIKE handler has been fined after a woman spotted him advertising her bicycle for sale on Facebook.

Caroline Abraham, prosecuting, said the bike was stolen from outside Morrisons on Foss Island Road.

Four days later, on October 24, the owner saw Joe Stephen Yates' Facebook ad and alerted police.

When an officer called to arrest Yates, he pushed her against a wall and put his hands to her throat.

Yates, 21, of Ninth Avenue, Tang Hall, pleaded guilty to handling a stolen bicycle and assaulting a police officer.

He was fined £240 and ordered to pay £100 compensation to the police officer and £85 prosecution costs.

Miss Abraham said the bike had been sold and not recovered.

District judge Adrian Lower, sitting at York Magistrates Court, declined to order Yates to pay its original owner compensation because he didn't know how much it was worth.

Liam Hassan, for Yates, said he had anger management problems, which could explain why he had attacked the officer.