Shoplifter thief busted Bristol after scotch bonnet chilli haul

A THIEF was caught red-handed and red-eyed after he decided to eat his haul - of scorching Scotch bonnet chillies while still in the shop.

Dopey shoplifter Marcus Banwell made the mistake of gobbling his fiery loot before making his escape.

Within a matter of seconds, the 39-year-old was doubled over, coughing and vomiting as the superhot food took effect, magistrates heard.

The shop owner at Singh Stores in Bristol was alerted by the commotion on August 4 and followed Banwell outside, where he was arrested by police a shortly afterwards.

The heat of the chilli pepper packs a mega-potent heat rating of 100,000-350,000 scoville units – compared with jalapeno peppers' maximum 8,000 units.

Fire power ...Scotch bonnets are some of the world's fieriest chillies

Prosecutor May Li said cops searched Banwell and found four more chillies in his pocket, a stolen milk shake, fruit juice and a clarinet stashed in his waist-band, missing from a music shop.

Police also found wraps containing crack cocaine and heroin on him.

Banwell, from Bristol, admitted possessing two class A drugs, three shop thefts, receiving stolen goods and breaching his licence from a previous prison sentence.

Shop ... Singh Stores in St Paul's in Bristol, where Marcus Banwell ate a packet of scotch bonnets

He was jailed for six weeks running consecutively with an eight-week sentence for breaching the terms of his licence.

Emily Evans, defending, said her client had serious issues with drugs and alcohol that he wanted to address.