A would-be thief at the heart of a shop riot in which shopping baskets were thrown has been locked up for six months.

On October 11, the 17-year-old told staff at the Co-op store in Tang Hall Lane, York, that he wanted to pretend to steal a tray of beer and asked them to stop him walking out with them, said prosecutor Vivienne Walsh at York Youth Court.

But when he picked up 24 cans of Carling lager worth £18, and shop workers stopped him at the door as arranged, he struggled violently, and three youths with him started throwing shopping baskets about. Only when off-duty police officer Alistair Kennan came to the aid of the two staff was the youth subdued and taken into custody.

The teenager, of no fixed address, but is from York, pleaded guilty to attempted theft, a public order offence, handling a mountain bike stolen in August, failure to attend court, breach of a supervision order, and asked for nine offences of stealing alcohol from Jackson's stores in York to be taken into consideration.

Youth justices gave him a six-month detention and training order to be served after he finishes a four-month similar order he received in Middlesbrough recently for being a passenger in a car taken without consent. His solicitor, Denis Lofthouse, said the three youths had coerced the 17-year-old into stealing some beer, but he had not wanted to do it. So he had arranged with the shop staff to make it look as if he had tried and failed. However, he tried too hard and matters got out of control.

Mrs Walsh said that in August he was sitting with a stolen mountain bicycle on a bench in Tadcaster Road when the bike's true owner went past in a bus. The owner got out, challenged the teenager and got his bike back.

The Evening Press reported last month how PC Kennan had stood up to the thieves after working a shift at York Racecourse during one of the busiest meets of the year.

Updated: 14:34 Wednesday, December 17, 2003