A Milford Haven man gave into temptation and stole t-shirts to survive, a court has heard.

Dean Michael Davison, of Bunkers Hill, pleaded guilty to theft from a shop when he appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates on Tuesday, January 14.

The court heard Davison, 35, stole 15 t-shirts, valued at £210, from Sports Direct Plc, Haverfordwest, on March 29.

Sian Vaughan, prosecuting, said: “He went into the shop, grabbed a handful of t-shirts and left without paying for them.

“The items were not recovered, I understand Mr Davison sold them.”

The incident was captured on CCTV and Davison was arrested. Between 15 and 20 t-shirts were believed to have been stolen.

He accepted he had taken the clothing when interviewed by police.

Jonathan Webb, defending, said Davison had not gone into the shop intending to steal, but temptation got the better of him when he saw the items near the door.

“He saw that there were t-shirts close to the exit and got carried away.”

The court heard that Davison had only recently moved to the area, and his ex-partner had emptied their account of their joint benefits claim after the couple split up.

“He was in the process of sorting his benefits and had no money. Temptation got the better of him.

“He took the t-shirts and sold them to get money to survive.”

Mr Webb added that he had ‘no idea’ why the matter had taken so long to come to court, and the case had been hanging over Davison’s head since he admitted the offence in interview in April.

Magistrates fined Davison £80 and ordered him to pay £210 compensation to the store.

He will also pay £115 in costs and a surcharge.

The chairman of the bench said: “I hope you realise now it was a very stupid thing to do. These things never end well.”