Huddersfield robber swung machete at Asda staff as he tried to give away champagne and Pringles

A violent Huddersfield robber who tried to steal champagne, Pringles and Lynx body spray from an Asda brandished a bin bag hiding a machete at brave workers who tried to stop him leaving.

Heroic members of staff at Asda in Carr Pit Lane tried to catch Steven Langford, who they suspected of shoplifting on January 17 this year.

Prosecutor Feb Greatley-Hirsch told Leeds Crown Court on Thursday that he was seen entering the supermarket with two bags of rubbish and staff thought his presentation was “hectic”. He said: “They confronted him when he left.

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“As he approached the staff, he pulled down a balaclava. One member of staff and another both asked him to open the bags for them but he refused to do so and became confrontational and told them: “F*** you” and said: “If you don’t let me go, I will f*** you all”. He removed an item from the trash bag wrapped in another bag.

“It was a machete knife. At that point, he told the staff, “I’m going to mess you up,” and began swinging the wrapped machete at them. It wasn’t the sharp end, but it hit. one of them and left a lump One of the staff shouted that he had a knife and they worked together and managed to restrain him and take him to the ground.”

Langford, in Baker Street, was kicked out, causing one of the female staff to fall into a large flower display. It was eventually searched by staff, who discovered items worth a total of £46 that had not been paid for. These were: a bottle of champagne, a tub of Pringles, a box of Mr Kipling slices and Lynx body spray.

The court heard Langford, 38, was arrested and taken into custody for questioning but refused to leave his cell. He was then interviewed at his cell door but refused to answer questions. He went on to be charged and pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and possession of a bladed article.

Mr Greatley-Hirsch said he had 36 previous convictions for 91 offences, including 14 for theft and related offenses and three for robbery between 2007 and 2012. The court heard he was licensed at the time of the Asda robbery.

Mitigating, Ian Hudson said: “Although this is a serious offence, it was an attempt. He has previous records – it’s clear to see. Some of them are for violence. He had a recent custodial sentence in 2012 for robbery and was released after two years in 2014 and noted in the (pre-sentence) report that he was recalled before being released in 2016.

“You will know that between 2016 and 2019 there was no other crime. Since that release, this is the first violent crime.

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“This was a shoplifting offense gone wrong at its core. This is not the case for someone walking into a store brandishing a gun and demanding goods. it was not produced in its true sense and when it struck people it was not with an empty machete, it was hidden in a cloth in a bag.

Judge Stubbs KC made Langford the subject of an extended sentence consisting of a prison term of four years and four months and an extended license period of four years. He will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence behind bars before going before the parole board, which will determine if he is safe to be released.

The judge told him: “The fact that you had the gun is what makes the robbery so serious. You used a weapon to cause violence and produced that bladed article to threaten violence. Just because it was in a bag doesn’t mean they didn’t. I don’t know what it was – they knew what it was.”