A HOMELESS shoplifter broke a shop window worth hundreds of pounds just so he could use the toilet, magistrates heard.

David Bradshaw crashed through five panes of glass at Ladymead House in Bath in January. The 39-year-old, of no fixed address, had earlier undergone an unsuccessful operation to fix problems in his gut.

Speaking for Bradshaw at Swindon Magistrates’ Court, solicitor Jeremy Griffiths said: “My client had been in to the premises, had come out and both doors were locked. He then found he had to get to the toilet very very quickly. He made the silly decision to break the glass.”

A month earlier, the pain in his gut had also prompted him to steal painkillers worth £2.29 from the pharmacy at the Swindon Health Centre, Fleming Way, as he waited for pharmacists to hand-out his prescription medication.

Probation officer Michelle James said in her pre-sentence report: “As he was said in the waiting area of that pharmacy he was in pain, but didn’t have any money to purchase medication So he took that medication from behind the counter.”

Magistrates heard Bradshaw had also tried to steal alcohol from the Sainsbury’s supermarket in the Brunel shopping centre, but was cornered by shop staff in the warehouse part of the store.

Bradshaw pleaded guilty to burglary, criminal damage and shoplifting. He also admitted failing to surrender to the court for previous court hearings.

He was sentenced to an 18 month community order. He must spend six months in a drug rehabilitation programme, complete 15 rehabilitation activity days and 19 thinking skills sessions run by the probation service. Magistrates also told him to pay £500 compensation for the broken glass.