A MAN who stole a watch from Debenhams Wrexham store said he needed cash to feed himself after his release from prison, a court was told.

David Nash blamed a delay in securing Universal Credit for targeting the store in Eagles Meadow where he was spotted acting suspiciously on Tuesday.

CCTV picked him up removing a Red Herring watch from its box, but he was detained at the exit.

He told police he was hungry and he was planning to sell the watch so he could buy some food.

Nash, 24, of no fixed abode admitted the theft on July 30 along with another theft - two jars of coffee from Bargain Buys in Regent Street in Wrexham on July 26 - when he appeared before North East Wales Magistrates’ Court.

Steven Edwards, defending, said: “It’s been a very eventful week for my client. He was released from prison, celebrated his 24th birthday and on Saturday appeared before court where he received a conditional discharge for six months. He tells me he was released without accommodation or income in the form of a discharge grant. He has been told his first Universal Credit payment won’t be for seven days. He has been on the streets with no money.”

District Judge Gwyn Jones handed Nash a 60-day custodial sentence but suspended it for 12 months.

He will have to pay combined costs and victim surcharge of £157.