A JOBLESS man stole a jacket so he could sell it to get money for food, a court heard. Great Yarmouth Magistrates Court heard on Friday how Tomas Akucevicius, a Lithuanian, was struggling to find work in the current economic climate and intended to sell a jacket he stole from John Lewis in Norwich so he could buy food.

A JOBLESS man stole a jacket so he could sell it to get money for food, a court heard.

Great Yarmouth Magistrates Court heard on Friday how Tomas Akucevicius, a Lithuanian, was struggling to find work in the current economic climate and intended to sell a jacket he stole from John Lewis in Norwich so he could buy food.

Akucevicius, 25, pleaded guilty to shoplifting, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance. He also admitted being in breach of a community order imposed by the court last year for motoring offences, including drink driving, after he failed to maintain contact with the probation service between January 12 and 26.

Gary Mayle, prosecuting, told the court that on January 19, Akucevicius, of Lichfield Road, Yarmouth, was seen to slip on a jacket from the menswear section of John Lewis and walk out without paying for it. He was detained by security outside the store and the �150 jacket was recovered.

The defendant admitted stealing the jacket during police interview and admitted a further theft from Boots in Norwich on November 25, which magistrates took into consideration.

Then, on January 28, Akucevicius was arrested again in Yarmouth after being caught driving his sister's Volvo S60, for which he was not insured, in Southtown.

Annette Hall, mitigating, said Akucevicius had lost contact with the probation service following a six-month stint in custody for alleged offences which were later dropped by police.

She said: “Here is someone who when he came to this country got a job and was not relying on the system to support him. He accepts he should not be a burden on the social security system.”

Ms Hall said Akucevicius had been seeking work but the current economic down turn was making it difficult to secure a job.

“He stole those items to sell to get money to be able to afford food,” she said.

Referring to the driving matter Ms Hall said Akucevicius was not driving round “willy nilly” and had “foolishly” used the car to help his sister.

She added her client had been suffering health problems which affected his ability to complete his community order.

Probation officer Sue Craske said staff had been made aware of a hernia problem and appropriate tasks were set accordingly. She added a second assessment interview had been carried out on Akucevicius exit from custody in October last year.

Magistrates adjourned the case until March 2 for reports and Akucevicius was granted unconditional bail.