MAGISTRATES have fined an Andover man who stole a crate of cider from a shop over the festive period.

Scott Campbell, of Winchester Road, Andover, entered the Tesco superstore in River Way on December 7, 2019, and took a crate of cider before leaving the shop without paying.

At Basingstoke magistrates court on Tuesday, January 14, when asked how he intended to plead to the theft the 31-year-old replied: “Guilty – it was a drunken mistake.”

Campbell was made to pay £10 in compensation to cover the cost of the stolen cider, as well as a £32 victim surcharge and £85 in costs.

He was also fined £46 for the offence, taking his total bill to £173.

Leaving the court room, Campbell quipped: “Expensive f***ing crate of beer, wasn’t it?”