A SERIAL thief who stole three ice creams after feeling low on energy ‘felt much better after eating them all’, a court heard.

Phillip David McMillan, aged 42, of Boydell Avenue, Latchford, pleaded guilty to theft at Halton Magistrates Court on Friday.

Alison Warburton, prosecuting, said he stole the Cornetto ice creams, worth £4.95, from a Co-op store on Kingsway South on September, 24 last year.

After being identified using CCTV footage, McMillan handed himself in.

The court heard during his police interview he said he ‘had been lacking energy’ and wanted to steal chocolate ‘to increase energy levels’.

Mrs Warburton said: “He said he saw the Cornettos and took them.

“He said he went home and ate all three and felt much better.”

McMillan, who is on benefits, has 17 previous convictions for 44 offences, including theft.

Gary Heaven, defending, said McMillan’s Job Seeker’s Allowance had been stopped as he missed an appointment, leading him to steal. 

The court heard the theft breached a 12 month conditional discharge imposed in June last year, also for theft.

Magistrates opted to take no action on the breach, as McMillan had 'managed to go seven months' without offending.

They imposed a fine and costs to be taken from his benefits, which have started again.