A MAN from Kidderminster avoided jail after pleading guilty to assaulting three people.

Terry Gavan, of Bredon Close, pleaded guilty to one count of assault and two counts of assault by beating when he appeared before Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, October 8.

The 30-year-old admitted assaulting two men and a woman on September 22 in Kidderminster.

He also pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis on the same day.

Gavan was given a 12-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay compensation totalling £225.

He must also pay £185 in court costs and a £21 victim surcharge.

In another case on Tuesday, a woman from Kidderminster was fined for stealing cleaning products from Wilko.

Natalie Stacey, aged 35, of Miller Lane, pleaded guilty to theft when she appeared before Kidderminster magistrates.

Stacey admitted stealing cleaning products worth £54 from the Kidderminster store on September 23.

She was fined £120 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £32 plus £80 in court costs.

On Monday, a Kidderminster man was jailed for stealing and damaging a car.

Stephen Collett, of Radford Court, previously pleaded not guilty to theft but a guilty verdict was reached in his absence on September 20.

Between July 7 and July 8 this year, the 34-year-old took a Vauxhall Mokka without consent and, before it was recovered, caused damage worth less than £5,000 to the vehicle.

Collett was also sentenced for stealing house keys, car keys and two bank cards, as well as £420 in cash from a woman in Kidderminster. He previously denied the charges but was again found guilty in his absence.

Magistrates sentenced him to eight weeks in prison and said the crimes were made more serious because of his record of offending.

Collett was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 12 months.