A JUDGE told a Southampton man as he spared him an immediate prison sentence: “This is your chance, take it.”

Raymond Cummings, 33, had sentence deferred last September after admitting an attempted burglary while on licence from jail on the condition he committed no more offences, stopped abusing drugs and found work.

But the city crown court heard that in the interim he had stolen a bottle of alcohol from a Romsey Road shop and then threatened the shopkeeper when he returned shortly afterwards after grabbing another which he was persuaded to put back.

Prosecutor David Reid said: “His behaviour was threatening and the shopkeeper anticipated violence.”

Cummings received a 12-month suspend sentence, two years’ supervision, a 180-hour community work order and an order to pay £100 compensation and costs for the attempted burglary, theft and using threatening words or behaviour.

Judge Peter Henry said the easy option last September was to jail him and on his release he would no doubt would have continued to offend, but he had deferred sentence to show there was another side to Cummings and he had shown some commitment to the terms.