A THIEF has been up before magistrates after stealing thousands of pounds worth of Apple iPhones from Hereford's EE shop.

The 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, entered guilty pleas to one count of theft from a shop, one count of attempted theft from a shop and one count of criminal damage to property valued under £5,000.

The court heard from prosecutor Nasim Khattak that the teenager, who was represented at the hearing by defence solicitor Mr Bassi, had stolen £2,326.98 worth of iPhones from the EE shop on December 19 last year.

He attempted to steal another £1,000 worth of phones from the iStore on the same date, and caused damage to the phone holders in the shop during the incident.

In total he took four iPhone 15s and attempted to take another two, Birmingham magistrates were told by the prosecutor.

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The boy, who is from Birmingham, was ordered to pay £500 in compensation and referred to a youth offender panel in his home city. 

No order was made for prosecution costs or a victim surcharge to allow compensation to take priority.

His parent or guardian will pay the compensation.