A MAN who stabbed a have-a-go-hero during a robbery in a West Drayton supermarket is beginning a jail sentence.

Barry Whittle, 20, of Peplow Close, Hillingdon, was ordered to serve five years and six months by Isleworth Crown Court for causing grievous bodily harm and for multiple counts of robbery and possessing a knife.

Whittle was arrested in West Drayton last October following the incident at a supermarket in Chantry Close.

It followed a two-week spree in which Whittle had targeted the same shop to steal alcohol.

That day, armed with a knife, he stole nine bottles of vodka. Challenged by security staff, he threatened them with the knife before attempting to leave.

READ MORE: How NHS staff can get a free holiday in Ibiza

READ MORE: McDonald's breakfast is back - but not in every restaurant

Whittle was grabbed by a shopper, who tried to detain him and, in the ensuing struggle, he stabbed the man in the shoulder.

He also assaulted the man’s teenage daughter, who came to assist, before fleeing.

Whittle had stolen items from the same supermarket on four other occasions, each time with a knife or screwdriver which he brandished at anyone who tried to challenge him.

Whittle was also convicted of breaking into a car parked in Frays Avenue and using a card he had stolen to buy items from a newsagent.

Det Sgt Reda Imane said: “A dangerous man will now spend a significant amount of time behind bars.

“He plagued staff at the supermarket, no doubt putting them in genuine fear with his actions. I hope his prison sentence offers them and those who stood up to him some reassurance.”