A Suffolk man has been ordered to compensate the security guard he racially abused after being kicked out of job centre for acting threateningly towards another member of staff.

John Allen, 51, of Knight Road, Rendlesham, was also sentenced to carry out unpaid work at Suffolk Magistrates' Court on Friday, having earlier admitted two charges of causing harassment, alarm or distress - aggravated in the second instance by his use of a racist slur.

Prosecutor Colette Harper said Allen used a racially abusive term to describe a security guard who removed him from the Woodbridge Jobcentre after he swore at a female member of staff on November 7 last year.

Allen said he had not intended to cause alarm and that the remark was a reaction to being called 'white boy'.

He told magistrates: "I'm truly sorry for what I said. I know two wrongs don't make a right.

"I have friends of all types of nationality. I've never been violent and didn't mean any distress."

Allen, who said he had secured employment and had no intention of returning to the branch, was handed a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation sessions, and ordered to pay £100 compensation to the guard.

The court heard that Allen had a criminal record of 18 offences, had served time in prison, and had changed his name twice for "security reasons".

He remained in court to admit a separate charge of driving a van at 37mph along a 30mph stretch of the B1438 in Ufford on May 20 last year.

Having collected 10 points for speeding on March 25 and 28, 2018, and on May 5, 2019, Allen argued that a driving ban under the 'totting up' procedure would cause exceptional hardship.

He said he was in arrears for a mortgage on the five-bed home he shared with his dog, and had agreed a payment plan which depended on him being employed.

He said his current work, decorating a property in Frinton-on-Sea, required him to drive, and that a ban would jeopardise the employment of two people subcontracted to the job, while also affecting his ability to have scheduled contact with his child.

Magistrates fined Allen £120 for the offence but were satisfied he would suffer exceptional hardship as a result of a ban and allowed him to stay on the road with 13 penalty points on his licence.