An air conditioning unit set to be fitted at a Cleckheaton pub was stolen after being left outside.
CCTV footage showed it being swiped from the New Pack Horse before being loaded into a van fitted with false number plates.
Timothy Hempsey appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to offences of theft and driving without a licence or insurance.
The Huddersfield court heard that the £500 air conditioning unit was stolen on July 15.
A contractor working at the pub alerted the manager to the theft and the CCTV footage was checked.
This showed Hempsey pulling up outside in a Ford Transit van, looking inside some bins and then taking the unit left at the back of the pub.
His vehicle was stopped by police in Shipley and was registered as off the road and fitted with false plates.
Hempsey, of York House in Bradford, said he was struggling to find work following his release from prison.
He claimed he believed that the unit had been thrown out and he’d received £160 after scraping it.
Magistrates banned the 26-year-old from driving for 12 months.
He must pay £100 compensation as well as £20 victim surcharge.
