A hapless shop thief was caught in the act wheeling his loot down the street in a trolley.
Police spotted Liam Prudhoe and a pal walking down a road in Berwick with £231 worth of washing powder products they'd just stolen from a nearby B&M store.
A court heard that Prudhoe had earlier been abusive towards a security guard at Tesco and had thrown a "haymaker-style punch" towards him but missed.
The police had been called because of that incident and they found the 29-year-old not far away with the trolley, having used the intervening time to steal from B&M.
Prudhoe, of Colombo Road, Sunderland, was arrested and appeared at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court, where he pleaded guilty to one count of theft and a public order offence.
Prosecutor, Rachael Glover, said officers were initially called to Tesco, in Berwick, at lunchtime on October 4 this year.
A security guard in the store had become suspicious of Prudhoe and followed him outside before taking his picture.
Miss Glover said: "The defendant became abusive and told him to delete the photo. He then threw a haymaker-style punch towards the security guard. Those punches didn't make contact."
A pal of Prudhoe's then joined him and the police were called as the pair walked off.
Miss Glover added: "Officers attended and saw the defendant walking down the street. He had a trolley with him full of goods that weren't in bags.
"Police stop the defendant and take the goods back to B&M and staff confirm they are from there and haven't been paid for."
In total, Prudhoe, who has 15 past convictions for 22 offences, stole £231.27 worth of washing powder products.
Charlie Carr, defending, said: He's entered an early guilty plea. These offences actually happened before the imposition of a community order on November 21. These offences should have been dealt with then."
Prudhoe was given a 12 month community order, with 40 hours of unpaid work, and must pay £85 costs and a £90 victim surcharge.
