A 'desperate' thief broke into a KFC and stole a charity box containing £7 in coppers because he was 'hungry'.
Daniel Sawdyke, 29, forced his way into a branch of the fast food restaurant in Hulme before pilfering the sum.
A judge at Manchester Crown Court described the crime as a 'mean offence, one which was frankly blatant and arrogant'.
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Drug addict Sawdyke, who has a 'terrible' criminal record, was locked up for 16 months after he was also caught with a knife on three occasions.
Sawdyke broke into the KFC on Greenheys Lane West through a staff door.
He took the charity box, which was stored near the tills of the restaurant.
Sawdyke left the restaurant at about 10am on August 27, but was caught on CCTV and was recognised by a PCSO.
Prosecutor Peter Malone said it wasn't clear whether any members of staff were in KFC at the time.
"Essentially it was very stupid, he apologises," Sawdyke's barrister Ellen Shaw said.
"He was hungry and he hadn't had anything to eat.
Ms Shaw said the charity box had '£7 in coppers' inside it, and that Sawdyke was 'desperate' at the time.
Months later, Sawdyke was caught with a knife on three separate occasions within days of each other.
He and his girlfriend were living in an underground car park at Moss Side Leisure centre, and Sawdyke was using the knife to cut heroin, Ms Shaw said.
On two occasions in November a security guard confronted Sawdyke and he moved on, and on the third he was arrested after police were called.
Sawdyke, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to one count of burglary and three counts of possessing a bladed article.
"The public need to be discouraged from carrying knives," Judge Darren Preston said.
"It seems you routinely carry a knife in a public place.
"Whatever your intention, they can get used and people can get hurt and get killed.
"That is why carrying knives in public is a serious offence.
"The only mitigation available to you is your guilty pleas."
