Bassetlaw man who nabbed cash from wallet caught hiding in his cupboard

Leighton Sipson approached the woman as she queued for the TSB cash machine, on Carolgate, Retford, at 10.30am, on April 6, said prosecutor Dan Church.

She was talking on her mobile phone and hadn't noticed she had dropped her purse.

Sipson asked her a question and bent down, but she suspected he was trying to beg and told him to go away. She realised he must have picked up her purse when she discovered it was missing moments later.

The woman confronted him as he came out of a nearby dental practice and he confirmed he had the purse. But when he returned it she saw the £80 was missing.

Police went to Sipson's flat and found him hiding in a cupboard under the stairs, Mr Church said.

The court heard he has 32 previous convictions for 48 offences, ten of which are for theft, and was last in court for shoplifting in May, when he received a day's detention.

Stephen Burdon, mitigating, said: "While he accepts how foolish and stupid he has been he deserves credit for accepting responsibility straight away."

He said the defendant was unable to work because of mobility issues

Sipson, 45, of Queen Street, Retford, admitted theft by finding at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Thursday.

District Judge Andrew Meachin called it "a mean, nasty offence," and praised the victim's courage because "she didn't know what your reaction would be."

He imposed a 12-week curfew, from 7pm to 7am, and ordered £180 of fines and costs.