“We are not going to keep you longer than we need to,” presiding magistrate Phil King told O’Driscoll after hearing that the wife’s contractions were arriving every five minutes.

A DEFENDANT’S pregnant wife went into labour in the waiting room of Ely courthouse on Thursday afternoon as he stood before the bench and admitted theft.

James O’Driscoll pleaded guilty to stealing batteries from Cam Alarms in Burwell on Christmas Eve.

“We are not going to keep you longer than we need to,” presiding magistrate Phil King told O’Driscoll after hearing that the wife’s contractions were arriving every five minutes.

O’Driscoll, 20, of The Laurels, Waterside, Isleham, was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay �200 compensation and �85 costs.

Neighbours of the business had alerted the owner after seeing two males at the commercial premises, loading up batteries from a container, said Penny Cannon, prosecuting.

The stolen batteries were found on the back of a pick up truck; O’Driscolls’s teenage accomplice had since been given a reprimand,

Mitigating, solicitor Michael Judkins said O’Driscoll and his wife already had a 10 month old child.

“He has been able to come by some money by recycling batteries, scrap metal merchants will buy them,” he explained.

“It was Christmas coming up, and he had been out of work since September. He just fell into temptation, he thought if he could put his hands on some money, it would be of benefit. He was apprehended very quickly, the police came to his home before they were unloaded.”