Tesco thief jailed after stealing booze from store because he had 'problems with budgeting'

The 48-year-old took almost £180 worth of alcohol from the store on dates in late November and early December.

He appeared at Carlisle's Magistrate's Court where he admitted those two thefts and a third one on December 3, when he stole goods worth £77.

Kate Hunter, defending, said: “He was in receipt of Universal Credit and essentially he was struggling to budget and that’s what this all came down to.”

She told the court the defendant’s problems got “out of hand” when he lost his accommodation.

She added that McAvoy suffered from various mental health conditions, including schizophrenia and personality disorder, for which he took medication.

The defendant, formerly of Peter Street, Workington, also pleaded guilty to breaching a criminal behaviour order three times.

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The order included a ban on him going into the store he stole from. The court heard that McAvoy had 129 offences on his record, of which 59 were thefts.

Magistrates jailed the defendant for 16 weeks.

He was ordered to pay compensation to Tesco of £249. There was no costs order.