A man accused of using a metal bar to smash windows during burglaries at two Felixstowe jewellery shops on Christmas Day has claimed he heard voices telling him to commit the offences.

Giving evidence at Ipswich Crown Court, Reece Tye, who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, said he had become anxious while watching his family eating Christmas dinner at his mother's flat.

"I felt quite worried about the treatment of turkeys because people eat them and they haven't done anything wrong," he told the court.

He said that after returning to the hotel in Felixstowe where he was staying he had an argument with his girlfriend and had gone out into the town centre.

He said he felt as though he was being "guided by the wind" and heard voices which made him think he could save the lives of innocent animals by stealing something of value.

He used a metal pole to smash his way into Gorgeous Jewels and had then unsuccessfully tried to break into Boreham Christopher's next door.

When police arrived he had come out of the shop with his hands by his head but claimed he was sprayed with an incapiciant spray and forcefully taken to the ground.

He denied punching a male police officer but accepted pinching a female officer's leg because he claimed he was unable to breathe and in pain from his arm being twisted behind him.

Tye, 21, of Winalls Yard in Norwich, denies two offences of burglary, possession of a knife in a public place and two offences of common assault on police officers.

Simon Ward, prosecuting, said that police received reports of a man smashing windows at Gorgeous Jewels and Boreham Christopher, which are next door to each other in Hamilton Road in Felixstowe, with a metal bar at about 11 pm on Christmas Day 2017.

When officers tried to restrain Tye he had allegedly pinched a female police officer and punched a male officer to the side of the head.

When Tye was arrested he was allegedly found in possession of a pocket knife.

The court heard that Tye had been in contact with the mental health services since 2016 and had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

The case continues.