A BIKE stolen from a garden shed ended up being sold to Cash Converters in Blackburn for £25.

Blackburn magistrates heard Matthew Knowles, who did the pawn shop deal, claimed he had found the bike on a pile of rubbish down a back alley.

Knowles, 31, of Canterbury Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to theft of a bike worth £120.

He was given a conditional discharge for six months and ordered to pay £25 compensation to Cash Convertesr, £85 costs and £20 victim surcharge. Andy Robinson, prosecuting, said following the theft a man was seen pushing the bike near to Cash Converters.

Police were able to identify Knowles as the vendor and the bike was returned to its owner.

Scott Parker, defending, said Knowles had seen the bike on a pile of rubbish.

He left it where it was but returned later and took it. "He has learned his lesson and knows that if he does find anything he should hand it in to the police," said Mr Parker.

A spokesman for Cash Converters said: "When Matthew Knowles came into the store with the bike, we used a police system to check if the item was stolen.

"It had not been reported to the police at this stage so was not flagged up as stolen property.

"Once it was established that the item was in fact stolen, the police seized the bike and Cash Converters cooperated fully with the investigation."