Twin brothers who assaulted police officers and repeatedly stole from a Peterborough supermarket have been jailed.

Abid and Itlaf Hussain, both 39, were arrested in February following multiple thefts from Morrisons Daily in Bretton Centre.

On ten occasions between January 16 and February 6, the brothers entered the store with carrier bags and filled them with items including meat, laundry products, alcohol and confectionery totalling more than £1,500, before leaving the store without making any attempts to pay.

Abid, who is subject of a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) which bans him from entering the Bretton Centre, including the BP fuel station and M&S store, was arrested at the centre on February 7.

Once arriving at custody, Abid lunged towards one of the police officers in an attempt to assault her, resulting in him being further arrested for assaulting an emergency worker.

The following day, when Itlaf was arrested, he spat in the face of two police officers, resulting in him being further arrested for assaulting emergency workers.

The brothers appeared at Cambridge Crown Court on Tuesday (April 23) where Abid, of no fixed address, was sentenced to a year in prison after previously admitting ten counts of non-dwelling burglary, ten counts of breaching a CBO and assaulting an emergency worker.

Itlaf, of Lutton Grove, Westwood, Peterborough, was jailed for nine months after previously admitting ten counts of theft from a shop and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker.

PC Josh Wright, who investigated, said: “The Hussain brothers are both prolific in their offending, which is why we had been able to secure a CBO against Abid in November last year, resulting in him being charged with business burglary as opposed to theft from a shop as he was trespassing on premises he was banned from.

“As police officers, we accept we are often faced by the unknown and unpleasant situations, however, being assaulted and spat at is completely degrading and I’m pleased the courts have recognised this.”