A REFORMED drug addict stole video games worth £9,000 from a delivery van in the centre of a North Yorkshire town before he summoned a cab to make his getaway, a court heard.

But 37-year-old John Paul Burns, of Berkley Crescent, Padiham, forgot to load the haul from the taxi into his car and was caught by police as he tried to retrieve it.

Burns was jailed for six months after the incident in Harrowgate last month.

Harrowgate magistrates heard how the suspicious behaviour of John-Paul Burns caught the attention of CCTV operators who had kept a close watch on him in Cambridge Street.

Prosecutor Kathryn Reeve said he had been seen loitering near a Mercedes van delivering in the street.

He approached the nearside sliding door of the van, the court heard, and when the driver went to make a delivery, Burns took two large boxes from the van and walked off with them before getting into a taxi which he asked to take him to Princes Square. He had paid the driver £3 with a £2 tip.

When the cab dropped him off, he left the two boxes, which contained 125 Xbox360 Assassin’s Creed II games and 100 Xbox360 Left4Dead2 games, between two parked cars and walked into Albert Street where he drove off in a red Peugeot 307.

But, the court heard, Burns was too hasty in his desire to get back to his haul, and drove the wrong way along a one-way street. Police pulled him over and arrested him.

Miss Reeve said he admitted stealing after watching CCTV footage.

He also admitted driving while disqualified and without insurance, for which he was given a driving ban.

Philip Turner, defending, said Burns stopped off in Harrogate while on a visit to a friend. He had parked and walked into the town centre with £180 in his pocket, looking for Christmas presents for his children.

He said Burns had not planned to steal. He had seen the van left insecure and on the spur of the moment took two boxes.

But he found himself struggling to carry them so he caught a cab.