A CALLOUS thief who stole a charity box during a shoplifting spree in Bromsgrove has been fined a total of £210 and ordered to fulfil a rehabilitation programme.

Ricky Penn, 31, of Stirling Road, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft and one of attempted theft at Kidderminster Magistrates Court for incidents that took place on May 9.

He stole a charity box – containing an unknown amount of cash – from Ascott’s Kitchen and Bar in Aston Fields, swiped chocolate from a Co-Op and nicked hair straighteners worth £70 from Boots.

Penn also attempted to steal six bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey – worth a combined value of £150 – from Bromsgrove’s Asda.

In other cases before magistrates, a pensioner has been fined £337 after being spotted driving a vehicle with an illegal registration plate in Bromsgrove.

Lawrence Brennan’s Audi A4 plate was said to have incorrect spacing between a ‘4’ and an ‘R’ – and that its digits looked too small.

The 71-year-old’s offence was spotted when Brennan, of Clent Way, Birmingham, was driving on Hanbury Road on November 1, 2019.

Also before Kidderminster Magistrates, a Finstall man has been landed with an electronic tag and a £230 fine for drug-driving – as well as being banned from taking the wheel for four years.

Wayne Gough, 38, of Heydon Road, was found to have cocaine in his blood when driving on Old Burcot Lane, Bromsgrove, on January 30, 2020.

He pleaded guilty to the offence and was handed a ten-week electronic curfew to remain at his home address each day from 4pm to 6am, as well as a 48-month driving ban.