A WINE thief who pretended to shop before hiding bottles in a plastic bag and being caught by a security guard had done the same thing successfully earlier in the day, a court heard.

Jonathan Ross was spotted on CCTV at Sainsbury's picking two bottles of wine, putting them in a basket, then going to the end of an aisle and crouching down to place them in a Morrison's bag before trying to leave the store on October 19.

But the 48-year-old was stopped by an observant security guard after he noticed he had already visited the store earlier in the day and decided to watch him on CCTV, prosecutor Leslie Ashton said.

He was stopped when he tried to leave the store and the police were called. While the pair were awaiting the arrival of the police, the CCTV was checked from when Ross visited earlier in the day and it showed him doing the exact same thing and stealing another two bottles of wine.

Ms Ashton said: "When interviewed, he [Ross] said he was under a large amount of stress due to relationship issues and could not recall stealing the earlier bottles."

The court was told that the defendant had a number of offences on his records relating to alcohol, but none for theft.

Ross, of Bromsgrove Street, Kidderminster, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft when he appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday, December 10.

Chairman of the magistrates Brent Robinson sentenced Ross to a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £150 in court charges, £50 in prosecution costs, a £15 victim surcharge, and £9.50 compensation to Sainsbury's for the two bottles of wine that were not recovered from the first theft of the day.