A MAN stole two cooked chickens from a Hereford supermarket to feed his friends.

Andrzej Paliwoda, 55, of Whitecross Road, Hereford, pleaded guilty to stealing groceries worth £8.80 belonging to Asda Stores in Hereford.

Adrian Jones, prosecuting at Hereford Magistrates Court last week said that Paliwoda entered the Belmont Road store at 4.30pm on September 6.

"He took two chickens from the counter and dropped them into a bag he had with him," said Mr Jones.

"He was seen by security staff and was stopped as he was leaving the store."

On interview Paliwoda said that he had been fishing with friends and went to the supermarket in order to feed them.

He said that he was going to try his luck and see if he could get away with it.

"Paliwoda said that he had some money but it wasn't enough to pay for what he wanted," added Mr Jones.

Chris Read, mitigating said that Paliwoda had a number of previous convictions.

"He was with friends who had been supplying him with alcohol so it was a way of repaying them," added Mr Read.

Dan Barratt, probation officer said that most of Paliwoda's offending was linked to alcohol.

"A previous alcohol treatment requirement helped a lot to cut down his alcohol consumption," added Mr Barratt.

"Due to having nowhere to live he continued to drink on the streets with his friends and they drank together."

Magistrates ordered Paliwoda to complete a nine months community order including 10 days of rehabilitation activity.

He was ordered to pay £8.80 compensation to Asda, £60 costs and an £85 victim surcharge.