Banned from Wulfrun Centre: Thief who stole £48 chocolate from Wolverhampton Poundland

Peter Smith, aged 26, of Hart Road, Wednesfield, pleaded guilty to one charge of theft of the confectionary which took place on March 30 this year at Poundland, Wulfrun Square.

Magistrate Terry Close granted Smith conditional bail and adjourned the case for sentencing on April 22 where he will also be sentenced for other theft offences which took place on March 19.

Smith's conditions for bail were that he cannot enter the Wulfrun Centre in its entirety and must live and sleep at his current address which is his mother's home.

Mr Paul Hitchcock, prosecuting, said: "CCTV from the store showed Smith taking a large quantity of chocolate on March 30. Police attended the store and we're able to identify the defendant from the footage and on April 1, when he was spotted in Wolverhampton city centre, he was invited to voluntarily attend the police station. He did not turn up, so Smith was arrested on April 2 where he initially denied the man in the footage was him."

In a statement read out in court, Smith said he stole the chocolate to fund a drug habit, though at the time of his arrest a drugs test did not reveal any drugs in his system.

He said he began using drugs after his children were taken into care two years ago and subsequently put up for adoption. Smith experienced a 'spiral of depression' and 'dabbled with heroin' that led to a series of theft offences including two other offences on March 19.

Smith's mother, who suffers with severe arthritis appeared in court with her wheelchair to support her son, who is partly responsible for her care.