THE owner of a Kidderminster hairdressing salon was terrified when a strange man began punching the window of her premises in The Horsefair, Worcester Crown Court was told.

She locked the door and called the emergency services when he collapsed on the pavement outside Pisces Hair Design, said Miss Jabeen Akhtar, prosecuting. As soon as an ambulance arrived, however, he got up and ran away.

William Carter was arrested two days later, on March 16, when police found him with an unprotected hypodermic syringe on a stairway in Witley Close, Kidderminster.

Carter, 30, of Walter Nash Road, Birchen Coppice, Kidderminster, pleaded guilty to breaching an anti-social behaviour order by acting in a manner likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

Judge Andrew Geddes remanded him in custody for another month so that the probation service could provide him with a support framework if he is released from jail. The judge said he was concerned about the "disruption and fear" that Carter was causing in the community.

Carter, who has hearing and speech difficulties, was made aware of the court proceedings through an interpreter.

Miss Akhtar said there was a third incident when Carter went into Seaman's store in Hurcott Road, Kidderminster, and was waving his arms about. The girl assistant was intimidated and thought he was going to snatch the till.

Miss Alison Scott-Jones, defending, said that dealing with Carter, who has 172 previous convictions, was "a conundrum".

He had already served the equivalent of a nine-month prison sentence since being remanded in custody in March.