A BACUP man's attempt at shoplifting while stranded in Rochdale was described in court as 'amateurish.'

Bryan Whelan, 32, of Cutler Lane, Stacksteads, admitted to Rochdale magistrates that he stole four bottles of vodka, worth £58, belonging to Asda,

Bill Rostron, defending, said that attempting to walk through a check-out with two bottles down his trousers and two inside his shirt was an 'amateurish' attempt to steal by Whelan, which was never likely to succeed.

After reading specific sentence reports, the magistrates imposed a 12-month community rehabilitation order with a requirement that Whelan attend a special repeat offenders' programme.

The prosecution asked for costs of £118.