A 60-year-old shoplifter has been charged with the burglary of a supermarket which he had been barred from entering.

Michael McNairn, of Loughview Drive, Enniskillen, had previously received two cautions for stealing from Asda in Enniskillen.

He appeared at Fermanagh Court and admitted entering the supermarket as a trespasser on July 5, and stealing a tin of paint worth £8.

McNairn also admitted that on July 16, he stole groceries to the value of £22.17 from Tesco.

He was given 100 hours of community service.

A prosecutor told the court that on Saturday, July 5, police were called to Asda where McNairn had been detained for shoplifting. Staff told police that McNairn was known to them and they had monitored his movements around the store. He had lifted a tin of paint, put it into a canvas bag and left without paying for it.

The prosecutor said McNairn was interviewed and admitted knowing he was barred from entering Asda but went into the supermarket anyway. He also admitted putting the tin of paint into the canvas bag to conceal it.

District Judge Nigel Broderick asked why McNairn was barred from Asda.

The prosecutor explained: “There had been previous incidents.” He went on to describe a subsequent incident on July 15, when police were called to Tesco where staff had detained McNairn for shoplifting. He had been observed putting items into a trolley, paying for two of them and leaving without paying for the other three. He told police he had gone to the supermarket to buy alcohol. He said he had a problem with alcohol and no memory of the incident.

Defence solicitor Niall Bogue said the two offences were similar although one was technically a burglary as McNairn was barred from Asda. He had personal difficulties at the time and has since sought treatment for his drink problem.

The District Judge told McNairn: “What concerns me is that these were two very similar incidents, both in the month of July, and you were already barred from one of the premises.” He pointed out that McNairn already had two cautions so this was four times he had been caught shoplifting.

He said a pre-sentence report by a probation officer indicated that McNairn posed a “low likelihood of re-offending”.

The District Judge told McNairn: “I think that is in part because you are addressing this problem you have.”