A man stole clothes to buy food after a lack of cooking facilities at his accommodation forced him to eat out, a court heard.
Kirklees magistrates were told Patrick Loben was desperate after spending most of his cash on takeaways and hot drinks.
The 42-year-old is residing at Cambridge Lodge Hotel in Clare Hill and complained he was unable to make himself hot food.
He turned to theft and was caught swiping almost £300 worth of jackets from the Huddersfield town centre branch of Marks & Spencer.
Prosecutor Alex Bozman said Loben targeted the New Street store on Monday . The security officer was alerted to Loben leaving the store with five stolen jackets and detained him on John William Street.
The offence put Loben in breach of two conditional discharges given to him by the court for similar offences.
Yesterday he appeared at court in custody, having been kept by police for court, and admitted the theft.
Bob Carr, mitigating, said that of the £143 his client receives per fortnight, most went on fast food.
He said: “He lives at Cambridge Lodge Hotel and there are no cooking facilities so most of his income goes on eating out.”
Magistrates ordered a full report on Loben and adjourned his sentencing until January 7. He must report to police the day before his next court appearance.
