A man stole thousands of pounds worth of jewellery from his mother and pawned it to pay for his gym membership and petrol, a court heard.

Karl Hinds, of Oldbury, pleaded guilty to stealing £6,450 worth of jewellery and a laptop computer from his mother Michelle Startin, of Pepperbox Drive in Tipton, when he appeared at Warley Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

The court heard Hinds, of Brades Rise, was living at his mother’s house and she was paying for his upkeep before the theft, after he quit his job as a car valet in March. He left the house after the crime.

Miss Maxine Jarrousse, prosecuting, told the court Hinds had stolen from his mother and sister before, but they had not reported it.

In a statement read out in court, Mrs Startin said after the latest theft on May 13 this year, she could no longer excuse him and reported him to police.

Miss Jarrousse added: “Mrs Startin said the stolen jewellery had a lot of sentimental value to her. She said he had stolen from her before and she could not excuse his behaviour again.

“He has no convictions recorded against him but this was a breach of trust and the items had sentimental as well as monetary value.

“Mrs Startin found steroids and syringes in his bedroom about six months ago and in the weeks before the theft he had become increasingly emotional. She put the theft down to that.”

She said Hinds pawned the jewellery in Dudley in his own name so he could buy it back.The laptop was sold at a Cash Converters in Blackheath.

Mr Shiva Misra, defending, said he questioned the value of the stolen items. He added: “The values are based on the estimates from his mother. He pawned the items and only received £200 for them, which he used to pay for gym membership and petrol. He fully accepts the crime.”

Magistrates committed Hinds for sentence at Wolverhampton Crown Court on June 21.

Chairwoman of the bench Ann Gascoigne said: “This was a vulnerable victim, your mother. This was a breach of trust. Our powers are insufficient to deal with this.”

Mrs Startin declined to comment after the hearing.