A HALESOWEN man who appeared in court for shoplifting meat and booze was hit with a community order and a £280 court bill.

Jamie Taylor, of Islington, pleaded guilty to stealing alcohol and meat, to the value of £270, from Co-Op on Hagley Road in Halesowen on May 15.

The 33-year-old also admitted stealing £128.90 worth of meat from Co-Op in Dudley on the following day.

Appearing at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court on May 19, Taylor also admitted stealing £113 worth of alcohol again from the Co-Op on Hagley Road on May 17 and also pleaded guilty to an assault in Halesowen on the same day.

He received a community order with a rehabilitation requirement and was ordered to a £96 surcharge, £135 in costs and £50 in compensation.

Also before magistrates last week, a Stourbridge man landed a £296 court bill after admitting possessing cannabis in Cradley Heath.

Daniel Cartwright, of Park Street, pleaded guilty to possessing a bag of the class B drug on May 19. The 22-year-old was fined £500 and ordered to pay a £34 surcharge and £185 in costs.

Also at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court, a 19-year-old admitted carrying a knife at Dudley bus station.

Aaron Baugh, of Hillside View in Bilston, was handed a community order after pleading guilty to carrying a craft knife with a locked blade without lawful authority at the bus station on Fisher Street on March 17.

He was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work over the next 12 months and to pay a £90 surcharge and £185 in costs at a hearing on May 21.