Mansfield thief stole to buy cannabis

Andrew Crowe, 30, of Victoria Street, admitted the thefts when he appeared before magistrates in Mansfield, on Monday.

A security guard at the Four Seasons Shopping Centre followed him out of the store and recovered the four DVDs, worth £28, on August 18.

He told police he was homeless at the time and planned to sell the DVDs to buy food, said prosecutor Sarah Sanderson.

The court heard he had 13 theft offences, with the most recent in August 2012.

Chris Lacey, mitigating, said: “Drugs are the background. He has debts, the most significant is a £3,000 debt for rent arrears.

“At the moment he is abusing cannabis. Because of his limited means he runs out of money and struggles to pay bills.”

He was given a 12 month conditional discharge, and was ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge and £85 costs, which will be deducted from his benefits.