Man arrested after smashing Southsea newsagent windows with shovel and 'threatening to kill' staff

Pretoria News owner, Colin Hewitt, said the incident came after the yob stormed out of the store at about 3.30pm yesterday, having stolen sweets and threatened ‘to kill’ members of staff.

The shop was closed hours early after two windows in its door and one large side window were shattered, leaving glass strewn ‘all over the place’.

‘We had a person here causing trouble,’ said Mr Hewitt, who has owned the shop for 30 years.

‘The shovel was outside but he threatened bringing it into the shop.

‘After he refused to leave we set off the panic alarm and he stole some sweets and went outside.

‘He said he was a homeless person and he was going to kill us – he just totally lost it and smashed the windows.’

Mr Hewitt said the commotion continued as the suspect used the shovel to ‘stop traffic’ southbound down Haslemere Road.

It ended as police arrived and bundled him into the back of a van near the junction with Hunter Road.

Left shaken by the ordeal, Mr Hewitt said: ‘We have to close because it’s not safe with all the glass in here.

‘I’ve never experienced anything quite like this.’

The broken windows of the shop have been boarded up.

A Hampshire Constabulary spokeswoman said: ‘We were called just before 3.30pm to Pretoria Road, Southsea, to reports of a man causing damage to a window with a shovel.

‘Officers attended and a man has been arrested for possession of an offensive weapon.’

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The man has now been released from custody but remains under investigation, the spokeswoman said today.

Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.

In light of the pandemic, Pretoria News now opens at 7am and shuts at 8.15pm daily.