A desperate man, who lost his wallet, phone and address of the place he was meant to stay, ended up breaking a £400-plus window when he climbed into a portable cabin.
Self-employed electrician James Brayford didn’t realise the cabin window wouldn’t take his weight – and it smashed.
Police arrested him inside.
Marie Stace, prosecuting, said Carillion PLC were carrying out work for Network Rail and had a number of portable cabins on a site in Spalding’s Winfrey Avenue.
At about 3am on June 28, a member of the security staff saw Brayford walking around the compound and heard a noise coming from a nearby portable cabin.
Miss Stace said he was offered restorative justice – where he could pay back the company £456 without coming to court – but was unable to afford it.
Solicitor Daven Naghen said: “This is perhaps something of a sad case. He is not somebody who is in the business of troubling the courts.”
Brayford lost his phone and wallet, which contained the address of his friend where he was due to stay, and effectively spent two-and-a-half hours wandering the streets looking for help.
Mr Naghen said he went to the compound, where security staff told him to go away, and then decided to climb into the cabin.
He said Brayford’s work is irregular and he could not afford the restorative justice offer, which would have been the end of the matter.
Brayford (30), of Newcastle-under-Lyme, pleaded guilty to criminal damage and was conditionally discharged for six months.
He was ordered to pay £456 compensation and a £15 victim surcharge at the rate of £10 a week. There was no order for costs because of his limited means.