A HOMELESS man was caught with a backpack full of stolen tobacco products after police were called to a break-in at a Hereford garage.

Audie Wayne Carr admitted handling stolen goods when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford on May 26.

Police were called to reports of an alarm sounding at a garage in Hereford's Whitecross Road on November 24, prosecutor Elizabeth Blacklock said.

Officers found the front door of the shop had been smashed and shelves had been stripped of cigarettes worth a total of £1,456.71.

A search of the area found Carr and another man carrying backpacks stuffed with tobacco and a bottle of wine nearby.

Marilena Di Vitantonio, for Carr, said there was no evidence the 46-year-old had been involved in the burglary itself.

"He was homeless at the time and still is," Miss Di Vitantonio said.

"He and his friend were found in the vicinity with the bag in which the tobacco was found. He says a man offered him the tobacco.

"He does have a lengthy history of problems with alcohol and addiction stemming from a very difficult childhood, but things have changed for him now. He is currently employed for a trial period as a labourer. The man who is employing him is someone who saw him sleeping on the streets and has given him a chance to prove himself.

"This has certainly been a lesson to him not to fall back into his old ways."

The court heard the tobacco products had been recovered.

Carr, of no fixed address, was fined £200 and must pay costs of £185 and a £34 victim surcharge.