A THIEF stole a laptop while a shop owner was distracted before selling it on for a fraction of its value to fund his crack cocaine habit, a court was told.

Damien Beechey Dore stole the laptop from Mobi-Tech in Lowesmoor, Worcester, after he visited the shop to get his mobile phone repaired.

Beechey Dore, 29, of no fixed abode admitted the theft of the laptop worth £350 when he appeared before magistrates in Worcester on Friday, July 22.

Angla Hallan, prosecuting, said the shop owner had been sitting in his shop on May 27 this year with his two children when Beechey Dore entered the shop with an iPhone 4 with a broken screen, asking him for a price to fix it.

He was told it would cost around £35 to fix it before Beechey Dore tried to persuade him to buy the phone.

Mrs Hallan said: "He kept asking, begging him to buy it, saying he only wanted £10 for it."

The shop owner was distracted by his children who were with him behind the counter.

When the shop owner walked around the counter to get a sim card for the phone Beechey Dore said 'don't worry, I will get it fixed somewhere else' and took his phone and left the shop.

It was only later that the shop owner noticed a laptop was missing from the counter and he viewed CCTV, discovering that it was stolen by Beechey Dore who was identified by police and made full and frank admissions in police interview.

Mrs Hallan said: "He said he concealed it in the back of his trousers while he was talking to the store owner. He stated he had stolen it to fund his cocaine habit. He has a £100 per week crack cocaine habit. He sold the laptop the following day for £80 in cash."

Barry Newton, defending, said Beechey Dore was sentenced on December 8 last year for a dissimilar matter of breaching a restraining order.

He had been given a 26-week prison sentence of which he served 13 weeks before he was released in March or April this year Mr Newtown said.

Mr Newton said: "He's of no fixed abode at the moment and is sofa surfing."

He said Beechey Dore had used heroin in the past but that he had stopped using heroin or any opiates and was engaging with Swanswell but at the time of the offence he had 'an unhealthy level of crack cocaine usage'.

Harry Turner, chairman of the magistrates bench, said they were 'very concerned' because Beechey Dore had 'a history of offending' and his behaviour seemed to be 'escalating'.

He added: "There is a history of non-compliance with court orders. We believe this has crossed the custodial threshold."

They sentenced him to four weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.

He was also ordered to pay £350 to the shop owner, costs of £135 and a victim surcharge of £115.

The shop owner declined to comment to the Worcester News.