AN IPSWICH drug dealer who attacked a shopkeeper with a metal bar during a burglary at his town centre premises has been locked up for more than four years.

AN IPSWICH drug dealer who attacked a shopkeeper with a metal bar during a burglary at his town centre premises has been locked up for more than four years.

Sisira Maddumage was unloading stock at Reds off-licence in Upper Orwell Street, Ipswich late one evening when he saw 25-year-old Colin Davey looking through a broken window at the premises, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Davey was holding wine and other items from the shop and when he was challenged by Mr Maddumage he picked up a metal bar and hit him in the stomach, said Naomi Turner, prosecuting.

Davey had then pushed the shopkeeper into a wall in a narrow alleyway leading to the rear of the shop and both men had fallen to the ground as they wrestled with each other.

As a result of the incident, which took place on May 22, Mr Maddumage suffered a graze to his elbow and scratches to his hand and was left shaken by what had happened, said Miss Turner.

Davey, of Hogarth Road, Ipswich, admitted burglary, assault causing actual bodily harm, making an offer to supply heroin and five offences of supplying heroin with two offences to be taken into consideration.

He was jailed for three and a half years for the drug offences with nine months to be served consecutively for the burglary and assault, less 97 days he has already spent in custody.

Miss Turner told the court that the drug offences related to occasions Davey had supplied undercover police officers with �20 wraps of heroin during a police operation aimed at targeting the suppliers of class A drugs in Ipswich town centre between February and May this year.

Neil Saunders for Davey said his client had only been using hard drugs since January this year and had been funding his own habit by supplying other drug users.

He said Davey was drunk when he committed the burglary at Mr Maddumage's premises and had put his hand through a broken window and taken bottles of wine after going down the alleyway to urinate.

He said Davey had picked up the metal bar which was part of a shop fitting and hit Mr Maddumage in the stomach in a bid to get away.