TWO men who burgled a shed were caught with their haul of stolen goods in a derelict pub, a court has heard.

Matthew Michael Sonn and Dominic Clarenne both entered guilty pleas when they appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Police were called to reports of two men acting suspiciously at the abandoned Riverside Inn in Ross-on-Wye in the early hours of May 17, prosecutor Jonathan Purser said.

Officers found 20-year-old Clarenne looking in a toolbox containing a power drill, vet tools, and other items, while 21-year-old self-employed gardener Sonn was caught climbing over a fence into the property.

Clarenne told police he had found the items, which were later identified by the owner as having been stolen from his shed, there.

In interview, the pair both told police they had been out drinking and taking drugs that night and that their memories were hazy.

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Chris Read, mitigating, said the evening had started as a night out after Clarenne received bad news about a family member.

"The two of them went out and there was some drug taking and a lot of alcohol was drunk," Mr Read said.

"They found some semi-derelict sheds and the two of them went in. Police were called and they found them there.

"Both of them said they were very, very drunk, and had not had any real intent to do what they did. It was a crime of opportunity and had not been thought through."

Sonn, of Peterstow, Ross, was fined £900 and must pay costs of £83 and a £90 surcharge, while unemployed Clarenne, of Bannut Tree Gardens, Bridstow, was fined £120 and must pay £85 costs and a £34 surcharge.

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