A SHOPLIFTER stole a coat worth more than £150 because he had not eaten for days, a court heard.

Magistrates were told Terence Graham planned to sell a North Face coat he took from JD Sports in Barrow to be able to buy food.

The 47-year-old stole the jacket, worth £155, from the Portland Walk shop on January 28 by hiding it under his clothes.

He admitted shoplifting when he appeared before South Cumbria Magistrates' Court.   

Describing the offence, prosecutor Lee Dacre said: "At 2.28pm the defendant entered JD Sports in Portland Walk and placed a North Face jacket under his own coat and left the store without paying for it."

The court heard Graham was caught on CCTV stealing the item.

Mr Dacre told the court Graham had seven previous convictions, including a shop theft in 2020.

The defendant was represented in court by solicitor Michael Graham, who told magistrates he had been struggling financially when he committed the offence.

Mr Graham said: "He said he hadn't eaten for a few days at that moment in time.

"He had a number of difficulties meeting his bills for services - electricity and gas.

"The item was taken to transpose into money to allow him to get some food."

He added: "He hasn't prevaricated in court. He does have a record but there's a large break in the offending."

He asked the court to consider a conditional discharge for the defendant - no immediate punishment - to recognise the difficult circumstances Graham had found himself, but that call was rejected by magistrates. 

Sentencing him, chair of the bench Leslie Johnson said: "We've listened to what's been said on your behalf and we've taken into account your early guilty plea." 

Magistrates sentenced Graham, of Barrow's Ainslie Street, to a £120 fine for the offence.

He was also ordered to pay £155 in compensation to JD Sports for the item taken from the store.

As well as that, the defendant was also told to pay a £48 victim surcharge and £85 in prosecution costs for brining the case to court.