A "criminal menace" who tried to choke his victim during an attempted robbery was jailed for three years yesterday.

Calvin Spence, 36, of Whaling Hill, Southampton, pleaded guilty to assaulting Kai Lau on August 18 with intent to rob.

Crown Counsel Graveney Bannister said the victim was walking on Cavendish Road at 2.15 a.m when Spence asked him for $2. Mr. Lau said no and walked off ? breaking into a run when Spence followed him in an aggressive manner.

"He screamed for help but Spence grabbed him around the neck with his arm and tried to choke him. He could not scream any further and had difficulty breathing," said Mr. Bannister.

At that point, a taxi drove past and Mr. Lau screamed for help from the driver - causing Spence to run off.

When the defendant was arrested and cautioned by the Police he replied: "What robbery. I don't know what you're talking about."

In court, he claimed he had been walking down the road when a man called him a "black b*****d" and told him he would never amount to anything - before bragging about the money in his wallet. He said he had hit the man, but did not try to rob him, and claimed: "He fell, and I held him so he wouldn't hit his head on the ground."

Spence admitted a further charge of stealing two bottles of whisky from the Market Place store in Hamilton, valued at $26.75 each on November 19. Mr. Bannister said he had hidden them under his jacket.

"He has a long history of dishonesty," he added, listing prison sentences handed to Spence for house breaking and stealing during a criminal history dating back 20 years.

Giving his version of events, Spence claimed he stole the alcohol in frustration at having the other charge hanging over his head.

"I got frustrated and vexed man," he complained. "I ain't done nothing to nobody."

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner rejected his claims about the circumstances of the attempted robbery.

"Having listened carefully to his explanation, which I find incredulous, I accept the facts put forward by the Crown," he said. Jailing Spence for a total of three years, he added: "This man is a serious criminal menace."