Chesterfield magistrates were told Glyn Kissane left his vehicle securely locked outside his home on Langwith Road during the evening of 16th October last year.

When he returned to the car in the early hours of the following morning he found the front passenger door had been forced open and an £80 Pioneer CD player was missing.

Prosecutor Helen Griffiths said last Wednesday that scenes of crime officers found a fingerprint on a window which matched that of Michael Godber.

"He was arrested during the early hours of 16th June and said he stole the stereo to sell, so he could get back to the Nottingham area," added Mrs Griffiths.

Godber (27), of Beeston, Nottingham, admitted theft and had a previous conviction for dishonesty in 2001.

District Judge Liz Hart ordered him to pay £240 compensation to Mr Kissane, with £60 court costs.

Bill Soughton, defending, said the father-of-two had been in a stable relationship and had kept out of trouble for seven years before this offence.

"They went through a difficult period around last October. He started drinking about 10 cans of Special Brew a day and fell out with his partner over drink."