A STRUGGLING window cleaner was caught red handed as he tried to make off with bottles of champagne from a supermarket in Northwich, a court has heard.

Stephen Barton, 56, of Scarisbrick Road in Liverpool, has a long history of offending, but managed to turn his life around in 2016 before being handed a conditional discharge for theft on July 20 this year.

Andy Judge, prosecuting, told Chester Magistrates Court, how Barton had been a prolific offender since he was first prosecuted in 1978 and has a total of 56 convictions from 135 offences.

He said: "It was September 14 when the defendant entered the Sainsbury's store on Venables Road at around 11am.

"He initially took some crisps and milk from the shelves before taking two bottles of champagne and a bottle of whiskey, which he then hid under the other items.

"The defendant then wrapped the tags on the bottles in foil and began to make his way out of the store, with clearly no intention to pay."

Barton was challenged by security staff, who recovered the items, and was detained by them as they reported the matter to the police.

When officers arrived at the scene, Barton was arrested on suspicion of theft but provided police with a no comment interview at Northwich custody suite.

Mr Judge explained how Barton had been in breach of a conditional discharge handed to him in July for a similar matter when he attempted to make off with the goods, which had a value of £83.40.

Scott Phillips, defending, said the fact the offence was in breach of that conditional discharge was 'clearly the elephant in the room' and made the 'straight forward theft' 'more serious than what it was'.

He said: "My client's attempts to conceal the items clearly didn't work, as he was stopped.

"However, if you dig a bit deeper into this case you will see there have been signs of progress.

"The last instance of theft before that matter in July was back in 2016, before which he was regularly getting into trouble because of his addiction problems to both drink and drugs."

Mr Phillips went on to say how Barton had managed to find employment in 2016 as a window cleaner and in the years since, had stayed out of trouble because he was in receipt of a regular and steady income.

However, with the arrival of Covid-19, that work had dried up and Barton had been struggling to make ends meet, with this situation culminating in the theft for which he was handed the conditional discharge back in July.

Mr Phillips said: "I would ask you to give him the benefit of the doubt as he is clearly on the right path.

"He knows that he needs to look at other avenues of work if the window cleaning business is no longer viable."

Magistrates decided to fine Barton £80 for the offence and he must also pay a surcharge of £34 and court costs of £85.

Despite the items being recovered, he was also ordered to pay Sainsbury's £83.40 in compensation, because due to Covid-19, they were not able to be put back on the shelves to be sold.