A DRUNK man who stole £75 worth of food from the Kandy Bar in the middle of the night is to be sentenced next month.

Phillip Felix Ryan helped himself from the Saltcoats bakery – and then ordered a taxi to pick him up while he was carrying black bags of stolen items.

The 27-year-old appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week and pleaded guilty to one charge.

The court heard that the bakery was closed in the early hours of November 29 of last year, but the overnight staff were in.

At around 1am, the front counter area was locked and secured but the rear front door was left open.

Ryan and another male entered the store and the former began making his way downstairs to an area of freezers and fridges. He then began removing items from within and placing them at the rear door.

Ryan and the other male left after 20 minutes. A taxi was ordered at that time for the accused under the name of Ryan. Both men entered the taxi carrying a number of black bags and a large box.

They were dropped off near Ryan’s home and were seen walking towards Anderson Drive.

Members of staff arrived at the Kandy Bar at 9am the following morning and realised that items were missing.

The bakery’s CCTV was viewed and it was found to have captured the incident in full. Police officers were able to identify Ryan and eventually traced him.

The value of the goods Ryan stole from the Kandy Bar was £75 and there was no recovery.

Defending Ryan, solicitor Alex Muir said: “He had been out and had quite a lot to drink.

“For whatever reason he saw an open door and thought he would help himself.

“He ended up back at home with the stuff and woke up and realised what had happened.”

Mr Muir added that his client was unemployed but had recently enrolled in a course “to get himself into employment” and that he was fit and able to carry out unpaid work.

He also said that Ryan had brought £60 of the £75 to court to pay towards the stolen items and was willing to pay the rest of the money when he was able to.

Mr Muir said: “£60 is ready for payment today.”

Sheriff Shirley Foran deferred sentence for Ryan to bring the full £75 to court for compensation to the Kandy Bar.

He will return to the court for sentencing on April 19.

The Herald contacted the Kandy Bar but they declined to comment on the incident.