A MAN just released from a prison sentence kept shoplifting because he wanted to go back to jail after he found himself homeless and penniless.

Michael Hunt went on a crime spree in Caerphilly in a “desperate cry for help” to have a roof over his head and regular meals again.

His barrister Lucy Crowther told Cardiff Crown Court how her client was on the streets and completely broke after he received a suspended sentence last month.

She explained the problem arose because he was free to go when released directly from court after being held on remand in prison.

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Had he been freed from the jail, Hunt would have been given a grant offering him some kind of financial assistance.

With nowhere to stay, the defendant tried to get accommodation in Cardiff but was told by authorities there he wasn’t allowed too and was told to apply in Caerphilly.

Miss Crowther said that when he went to Caerphilly, he was told to go back to Cardiff.

She told the court: “This was a vicious cycle. He was sent from pillar to post.”

Hunt, the court was told, also had to wait a week for a Probation Service appointment and couldn’t claim benefits because of the coronavirus pandemic.

She said he couldn’t apply for state assistance because he couldn’t walk into a Benefits Agency office as they were closed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

The court heard an application would have to be made over the telephone but because he had no money or mobile phone, he couldn't start the process.

Hunt had been released after he was given a suspended sentence for criminal damage threats, possession of a bladed article and possession of an offensive weapon.

On July 25, he stole eight cans of lager worth £9.50 from Morrisons in Caerphilly and when he was arrested, he told a police community support officer: “If you don’t lock me up, I will keep stealing.”

Two days earlier, Miss Crowther said Hunt had stolen a packet of Skittles sweets from Asda in Caerphilly and walked into the town’s police station to confess.

She told the court: “The defendant said what he had done and told officers he was the subject of a suspended sentence.

“He was told the item wasn’t of sufficient value and it wasn’t worth the paperwork.”

Prosecutor Abigail Jackson said the defendant asked for three further thefts of alcohol at Morrisons and B&M in Caerphilly to be taken into consideration.

Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Hunt: “You wanted to get locked up because there was no help for you.

“This is a tale of woe. It is a very remarkable and sad tale indeed. It was a desperate plea for help.”

Hunt, 35, of no fixed abode, Caerphilly, was sentenced to an 18-month conditional discharge, fined £10 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge.