LIFE without a job drove a father to steal nearly £100 worth of toys and children’s clothes, York magistrates heard.

David Thomas Laurie, 30, could not get benefits after he lost his full-time employment, said his solicitor Jane Maloney.

Martin Butterworth, for the Crown Prosecution Service, described how the father walked into Boyes in Goodramgate, York, with two plastic bags at about lunchtime on September 25. He took toys and clothes off the display shelves and put them in the bags. Then he walked out without paying for them and attempted to make his getaway on a bicycle.

But a store detective had seen his actions and followed him out of the store. He managed to stop the father making off and held him at the scene until police could arrive and arrest him. Laurie, of Imperial Court, Ashton Avenue, Clifton, pleaded guilty to stealing items worth together £99.06 and was given a 12-month conditional discharge.

Magistrates decided not to make him pay the prosecution costs.

His solicitor, Jane Maloney, said “His financial state has become quite dire. Out of desperation, he has gone and taken items, mostly items from the children’s department. It was simply so that he could help his family.”