A homeless and hungry dad has been fined after breaking into a Sunderland poultry and tripe factory.
Nathan Ewart, 30, broke into E Hall Ltd's premises in The Parade, Hendon, in a bid to find a bite and gain shelter from the rain.
But he also pinched £50 of cash from the firm's employees' tea tray and caused an estimated £1,400 of damage smashing his way in.
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Ewart struck out of "desperation" after finding himself with nowhere to live and penniless in bad weather, his solicitor claimed.
However, the dad's illegal intrusion on Friday, April 23, left the firm's owner shaken, magistrates in South Tyneside heard.
In a victim statement, he revealed he was shocked by how long Ewart had wandered around inside - and was upset at the cost of repairs.
Prosecutor Glenda Back said: "At 7.30am the complainant is called by a delivery driver, saying his premises had been broken into.
"The complainant arrived and noticed that his scooter was on the top of a tub, which was not where he had placed it.
"A PVC window and a metal door were open. In the tearoom, a tray in the fridge with cash on it for pop had been moved.
"It had had between £40 and £50 on it, and pop worth £30 had been taken from the fridge.
"A card machine, valued at up to £200, had been taken, as had a CCTV camera, worth £100."
Mrs Beck confirmed estimated repair costs were £1,000 for the metal door and £400 for the window.
In his statement, the owner said: "This has caused a significant financial impact on me, with all the items taken, in this already difficult climate.
"It’s quite frightening how long he spent in my factory, going through my stuff."
The court heard Ewart, now of Cockermouth Road, Hylton Castle, Sunderland, had several previous convictions, including using violence to enter a premises.
Joanne Gatens, defending, said: "At the time of this offence he was homeless, his relationship had broken down and his child had been taken into care.
"He had nowhere to sleep, he admits breaking into the property to find somewhere for the night.
"He’s a young man who is isolated. This offence was born out of desperation.
"I’m not saying that makes it the right way to deal with his problems, but when you don’t have anything around you, it’s difficult to come up with other options."
Mrs Gatens said Ewart disagreed with the alleged amount of money taken and claimed it was about £10.
Ewart, who pleaded guilty to burglary, was sentenced to a 12-month community order.
It requires him to complete 25 days of rehabilitation work with the Probation Service.
He was also ordered to pay £250 compensation and fined £40, with £85 court costs.
