A WORCESTER man who stole alcohol from two stores is trying to turn his life around following a health scare, a court heard.

Ryszard Marek Krawczyk, of Drake Avenue, Dines Green, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft before Worcester Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Krawczyk, aged 34, stole one case of Stella Artois lager and one sandwich, costing £12, from the Co-op store on Henwick Road, Worcester, on July 13, and then took a box of lager costing £10 from Tesco Express on Foregate Street on August 24.

Adrian Jones, prosecuting, said Krawczyk is an alcoholic and he stole the lager to drink himself.

"Regarding the incident in Tesco, the team leader and security guard confronted Krawczyk about the theft but he ran off with the alcohol. The security guard chased him but lost him. Police identified him and he later admitted taking the lager and said he was very sorry," he said.

Sam Lamsdale, defending, said Krawczyk had had issues with alcohol for a number of years.

"He said he drinks to excess on a regular basis, if not daily. However, following the offence in August he suffered a seizure and went to hospital. He came out of hospital at the end of September and since then he has not touched any alcohol. He was told his life expectancy would be short if he carried on drinking," she said.

Deputy district judge Bal Dhaliwal sentenced Krawczyk to a 24 month conditional discharge for each offence to run concurrent to each other and ordered him to pay compensation of £12, costs of £100 and a victim surcharge of £15.