A “DESPERATE” man who doctored a food bank voucher has been fined.

Lee Williamson, 34, of no fixed address, admitted one charge of fraud at Worcester Magistrates Court on Friday.

Lesley Ashton, prosecuting, said: “Williamson was part of the police’s Integrated Offender Management programme, where police work to help offenders come back into a community.

“He was given a food bank voucher on November 5 to collect enough food for two adults, but when he went to the (Worcester) food bank he had altered the figures on the voucher to claim food for children as well, but he has no children. He was arrested and he said to police ‘all I did was add on a couple of kids and got a few extra tins of beans, it’s not exactly the crime of the century’.”

Barrie Newton, defending, said: “He was released from prison before that offence and had been found accommodation. Because his benefits hadn’t recommenced, he had no money for food and was desperate.”

Magistrates fined Williamson £50, court costs of £105, £180 in charges and a victim surcharge of £20. He was also sentenced to a community order for 12 months.