A Pembroke man with a history of thefts was given a 12-month community order by magistrates in Haverfordwest this week after admitting stealing items from two stores last month.

Thirty-seven-year-old Michael Paul Davies, of Main Street, pleaded guilty to two charges of theft when he appeared in court on Tuesday.

Prosecutor Ellie Morgan told the court that the first incident occurred shortly before 10.30 pm on March 10, when staff at the Tesco store in Pembroke Dock spotted the defendant ripping security tags off a number of items on the premises.

"The staff were too scared to approach Mr. Davies, called the police and when they arrived, pointed out to officers that the defendant had run down the road," explained Ms Morgan.

When police caught up with Mr. Davies, items including four MP3 players, one webcam and two adaptors, to the value of £97, were recovered and intact.

Two days later, Mr. Davies was seen by a customer at the Co-op store in Pembroke putting a bottle of wine down the front of his trousers.

"When he was approached by a member of staff and asked if he had anything on him, it was clear that a bottle of wine was protruding out the top of his trousers and another in his jacket," continued Ms Morgan.

"The defendant was embarrassed by the staff member's actions and said to another that if they kept on looking at him like they did, that he'd go over and deck them," she added.

His solicitor, Mr. Jonathan Webb, said that his client had an unenviable antecedent history, with 117 offences committed in the past, and two months served in custody last year.

"Since August he has been out of trouble, but since his benefits have been stopped, unfortunately he has fallen off the wagon and returned to form," Mr. Webb told the court.

"My client has been stealing to survive and to sell on, not to satisfy a drinking craving.

"He has lapsed due to his alcohol problems and is even a little drunk today because he is extremely fearful, as the last time he walked through the door here, he didn't walk back out.

"He now has the offer of a job, a girlfriend and a new place to live and she has been a positive influence on him, so hopefully this is just a blip," added Mr. Webb.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order on Mr. Davies to be supervised by probation, and ordered him to pay costs of £120.