A Pembroke Dock man with an ‘unenviable’ record of theft has been handed a prison sentence following his latest charge.

Twenty-four-year-old Bradley Jack Harwood, of Gilgal Terrace, Pennar, pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing Gilette razors from a store in Milford Haven, on two consecutive days, when he appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Prosecutor Ellie Morgan told the court that Mr. Harwood entered the Iceland store on February 18, and stole the items worth £51. The following day he re-entered the same store and again stole £51 worth of razors.

“He was seen on the store’s CCTV putting the items under his top and leaving. The next morning he wandered around the store and picked up more razors. He was confronted by a member of staff before running off,” explained Ms Morgan, who told magistrates that Mr. Harwood had 10 previous offences of theft on record, and had been jailed for a period last year for similar matters.

Defence solicitor Mike Kelleher told the court that his client had a very ‘unenviable record’ and had not long come out of prison.

He told the court that Mr. Harwood had found it difficult to make reclaims for benefits once being through a period of imprisonment, and had been short of money,

“Once the benefits claims had stopped, it takes a month or more to reclaim. He went to the council and they refused to rehouse him and said that there was no place in the youth hostel.

“He is a young man with no money and nowhere to live, who has been sofa surfing for a long time.

“In the end, he resorted to relatively minor thefts for the simple reason that he had no money.

“Obviously he is a candidate for imprisonment, but if you do send him back for any length of time, the whole convoluted system will start again. It is a vicious cycle that will go on and on, until it is broken.

“His gran has offered to pay for him to go to rehab, and has told him that it is the last time to get himself together, as he has problems with drugs.

Mr. Harwood is also hoping to contact other agencies to get more help. He’s been told that he can’t be ‘Jack the lad’ forever, and that it’s time for him to grow up. I hope you can trust him to sort himself out, as he does ask for one last chance,” Mr. Kelleher told the court.

Magistrates told Mr. Harwood that they had no choice but to send him to prison due to his ‘very, very woeful’ record.

The defendant was handed a total of eight weeks jail time for both offences, and ordered to pay £102 compensation to the Iceland store.

He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £115 victim surcharge.