Man stole chocolate bars from Tesco store

Brian Niall Vint, Mountview Park, Banbridge, admitted the theft of confectionery from the Castlewellan Road store on April 7 last year.

The court heard that staff saw him take the chocolate bars and leave the store without paying. It could not be determined from CCTV footage how many bars were taken.

A solicitor representing Vint said he had no recollection of the incident because he may have had drink taken.

She explained that her client was diabetic and his blood sugar could have been low so he took a couple of chocolate bars. They were worth only two to three pounds at a maximum.

The solicitor said Vint was embarrassed at being in court for stealing some chocolate.

Deputy District Judge John Rea said the offence was at the lower end of the scale and imposed a conditional discharge for two years.