A LITHUANIAN man twice smashed his way into a former charity shop building because he was cold and had nowhere to sleep.

Vitalij Jakubcevac, 42, caused damage to the former Hospice at Home charity shop in Workington and later stole booze from two shops in the town.

Outlining the case at Workington Magistrates’ Court, Pamela Fee, prosecuting, said Jakubcevac used a rusty piece of metal to damage a glass panel on the door of the empty Pow Street shop on September 26.

He was arrested and admitted the offence when he was interviewed by police. He said he had been working in the shop and had been sleeping there.

The defendant said he was left outside with nowhere to sleep and it was cold. He said he smashed the window to get back inside.

He then committed a further offence on the same building on September 27, when he caused damage to a door again.

Jakubcevac admitted he had smashed the front door and used the same piece of metal from the previous day.

He said he wanted to sleep and had been walking round all day, begging for money.

Jakubcevac committed further offences of theft at Home Bargains in Workington on October 1. He attempted to place a bottle of wine down his trousers and walk out the store.

Then on October 5, he entered the Iceland store in Workington and stole some cherry wine. The offence was caught on CCTV.

John Cooper, defending, said: “The Hospice at Home shop isn’t a charity shop at the moment. It’s a disused retail premises.

“A gentleman from Northampton is going to take it on and run it as a mobile phone shop. He asked the gentleman here, ‘do you want to come and work with me?’

“He’s been sleeping in the premises. There has been an argument. He has been told, ‘get out, you are not working with me’.

“He’s been here [in the UK] for a few years from Lithuania. The main thing is to get him back to Northampton. He will be leaving Cumbria on the next available train. I don’t think he wants to come back.”

Jakubcevac, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to two charges of criminal damage under £5,000 and two charges of theft from a shop.

He was ordered to pay compensation of £6.99 to Home Bargains and £47.70 to Iceland. He must pay a total of £400 in compensation for the damage caused to the retail premises.

The defendant was fined £80 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £32 victim surcharge.