Homeless man stole phone with image of deceased loved one

Carl Boot nabbed the phone in a branch of Subway on September 12 last year, said prosecutor Susan Fisher.

"He admitted taking the phone and selling it on," she said, adding the theft happened two days after he received an eight-week suspended sentence for shop theft.

The owner said the loss of his phone was a "nightmare" as it contained personal files, including an image of someone who had died.

He lost work because of the theft and his family was concerned about him as he couldn't be reached.

"It was a new phone that he purchased by saving hard," Mrs Fisher said.

Sean Fritchley, mitigating, said Boot had received a 30-month prison sentence for burglary at Hull Crown Court the week before.

Prior to being jailed, Boot had been homeless, suffered health problems and misused drugs.

"He asked a judge for more time in custody to sort his head out," said Mr Fritchley. "He doesn't complain about the 30-month sentence."

Magistrates in Sheffield activated the suspended sentence and added 12 weeks for the theft, to run alongside the sentence he is just starting.

Boot, aged 30, of HMP Doncaster, pleaded guilty to the theft on February 27, and admitted breaching the suspended sentence on Friday.

Because of his "large" record, he was ordered to pay £122 compensation.