An “absolute pest” of a drinker carried out a catalogue of crime over several months in York and Scarborough, a court heard.

Homeless Andrew Morris, 46, broke into a city centre bar to find a place to sleep and raided shops to get alcohol or items to sell to raise money for alcohol, his solicitor Graham Parkins said.

He couldn’t get accommodation because of his drinking and he drank to deal with the consequences of being homeless.

York Magistrates Court heard that the crime spree began in York city centre in January, moved to Scarborough in April and returned to York in June.

Morris, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to burgling the Blue Heavens bar and grill in Coney Street on January 9; stealing cosmetics worth £33.95 from Boots in Westborough, Scarborough, and cosmetics worth £27.96 from TK Maxx in the same street, both on April 25; theft of a bottle of wine worth £4.95 from Sainsbury’s in Davygate, York, on July 4; and using threatening words or behaviour in Stonegate, York, on June 4. He also admitted failure to attend court for an earlier hearing.

“Your life is a mess,” district judge Adrian Lower told him. “The reason your life is a mess is because you drink too much. In order to obtain some money for yourself, you go stealing or you try burglary. That makes you an absolute pest.”

Prison probably didn’t hold any fears for Morris, but he wouldn’t find a non-custodial sentence easy.

The judge passed a 12-month community order with 30 days’ rehabilitative activities and banned Morris from the shops he stole from and the city centre bar for 12 months. He also ordered him to pay £27.96 compensation to TK Maxx.

Antony Farrell, prosecuting, said the other stolen items were recovered.