A man with aspirations to join the police force travelled to Haverfordwest to steal £777 of goods from a supermarket.

Roger Cook, of Llys Cennech, Llanelli, pleaded guilty to theft from a shop when he appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates on Tuesday, May 7.

Vaughan Pritchard-Jones prosecuting, told the court that Cook, 21, came to the area with friends on April 18.

Cook was followed and his car was searched after he was suspected of stealing from Tesco, Haverfordwest. Groceries with a total value of £777.60 were found in the boot.

The goods were in a re-saleable condition, with the exception of a £1.35 item.

Mr Pritchard-Jones said: “He did not give any explanation about why he had stolen the items, or what he was going to do with them.

“This young man had driven to the area to commit a crime.”

Mike Kelleher, defending, said Cook was a college student with ambitions to be a police officer.

“He is ashamed and embarrassed about what occurred. He has never been in trouble before.”

Mr Kelleher added that the young lady in Cook’s company had received a caution for the offence.

“That lady has obtained a property of her own. A large amount of the items taken would assist some body moving into a new property, as there were saucepan set, fryers, etc.”

Mr Kelleher added that Cook suffered from depression and anxiety and was ‘easily led’.

“Mr Cook has no idea why he went along with this idea.”

Magistrates fined Cook £85 and ordered her to pay £85 costs plus a £30 surcharge.

The chairman of the bench said: “I am sure that you will agree that it was a stupid thing to do. There was quite a lot of money involved and you travelled to Haverfordwest to commit this offence.”