Cannock man who spat at shop worker jailed

A Cannock man has been jailed for 17 weeks after he admitted spitting at a shop worker in the town.

Lee Whitehouse, aged 39, of Hunter Road, was detained at Home Bargains in Cannock on April 7 on suspicion of theft. He spat at a shop worker, saying he had Covid-19.

He was jailed on Wednesday (June 3) after admitting two counts of theft and the assault. He received a 17-week sentence for the assault, with a concurrent six-week sentence for theft.

Chief Inspector Becky Hyde, area commander for Cannock Chase Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “The vast majority of people across Cannock and Rugeley have been fantastic during the lockdown period, however, as the government eases restrictions compliance with the regulations remains important, especially if we are to continue to locally drive down infection rates.

“There a small minority that choose not to protect others and incidents such as this where Covid-19 is used as a threat against people trying to do their jobs. As in this case we will put those people before the courts.”