A HOMELESS man who was given shelter repaid his landlady by stealing household goods, a court heard.

Mark Clough, 31, of Hector Road, Darwen, admitted theft when he appeared at Blackburn magistrates court and was bailed for sentencing in three weeks.

Emma Kehoe, prosecuting, said the woman offered Clough somewhere to live because he was homeless, and gave him a key to the premises so that he could come and go as he pleased.

But he repaid her kindness by stealing £440 worth of household goods including a television and a microwave.

Mrs Kehoe said Clough admitted the offences in a police interview but said he could not remember much because he had been drinking.

Stipendiary magistrate Jonathon Finestein asked for pre-sentence reports and warned Clough he could be facing a custodial sentence.

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