Prison for “vulnerable” Worksop man who stole to buy gifts

CCTV cameras recorded Macaulley Hancock taking a dehumidifier and a diffuser, worth a total of £54, from the store, on November 12 last year, said prosecutor Anna Pierrepont.

FIona Davidson, mitigating, said: “It’s really quite sad. He was released from custody on October 18. This is a minor blip. He had been doing quite well.”

She said he had been estranged from his sons, aged two and four, and only stole the items to buy gifts for them.

The court heard he had missed probation appointments and failed to disclose a relationship at his supported accommodation, which he denied.

He will be released from prison in September 2020, Ms Davidson said, but added: “It is quite likely that will come forward.”

“He is very, very vulnerable,” she said. “It is deeply upsetting that he has been recalled at this stage.”

Hancock, 22, of Potter Street, Worksop, admitted the thefts, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Wednesday.

Deputy district judge Elizabeth Hart sentenced him to one day of detention, which has already been served.