A DRUNK man who woke up with a crate of cider by his side didn't remember stealing it, magistrates heard.

Daniel Adam Platts, 27, of Warwick Road, Lower Bullingham, Hereford, pleaded guilty to stealing a crate of Thatcher's Cider to the value of £9 belonging to the Co-Operative store on College Road, Hereford.

Amy Davies, prosecuting at Hereford Magistrates Court on Thursday, said that at 8.30pm on September 1, a member of staff saw Platts in the alcohol aisle next to a fridge with eight cans.

The staff member was informed by a customer that he had left the store with the item.

On interview Platts said he was drunk at the time. He remembered waking up with the cider but didn't know where it came from. He said he was sorry and offered to pay the store for the cider.

Philip Cornell, mitigating, said that Platts was 'totally drunk' at the time of the incident.

Magistrates gave Platts a community order for 12 months.

He was ordered to pay £9 in compensation to the Co-Operative, £135 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.