BURGLAR Owen Tucker broke into the Fountain pub at Soham, and stole more than £600 worth of cash and cigarettes. The landlord had been asleep upstairs at the Churchgate Street premises when Tucker helped himself, Ely magistrates heard on Thursday. He hear

BURGLAR Owen Tucker broke into the Fountain pub at Soham, and stole more than £600 worth of cash and cigarettes.

The landlord had been asleep upstairs at the Churchgate Street premises when Tucker helped himself, Ely magistrates heard on Thursday.

He heard nothing of the break-in, and only discovered the theft when his bar manager woke him the next morning with the news.

"The landlord had locked the property on March 26, and went to bed," said prosecutor Emma Dmitriev. "He was woken by his bar manager at 9am and told there had been a burglary."

Cash, cigarettes and keys had been taken from the pub, she said.

Tucker, 42, who lives near the Fountain, in a flat at Churchgate Street, Soham, admitted stealing £640 worth of cash and cigarettes in the pub burglary, and further admitted stealing £145.58 worth of batteries from Tesco in Newmarket on June 2, and stealing £15 worth of meat from the Co-op in Burwell on March 20.

Mrs Dmitriev said Tucker had "an unenviable" criminal record, and was made subject to an 18-month community order in April.

Jacqui Baldwin, mitigating, said two of the offences pre-dated his community order, which included a drug rehabilitation order.

The magistrates ordered a pre-sentence report and adjourned the case until July 5. The report will be made on all options, which could include custody.