A TEENAGER caught with stolen plant equipment from an under-construction Hyndburn supermarket claimed he had been asked to look after the haul by two friends, a court heard.

Burglars broke into a compound for the new Lidl store in Accrington and took a generator and other building tools, worth £1,300, Burnley Crown Court was told.

The equipment was later discovered in a Ford Transit van being driven by 19-year-old Patrick McDonagh in Beal Crescent, Rochdale, and he was arrested.

Joseph Allman, prosecuting, said that when challenged by police, McDonagh claimed he had been asked to ‘look after’ the plant by two men he named as Michael Heaney and Thomas Quinn.

But after further investigations, no trace was found of either man and the teenager was charged with handling stolen goods. McDonagh, of The Cray, Milnrow, pleaded guilty and was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to carry out 100 hours’ community service with £100 court costs.

McDonagh was said to have nine convictions for 29 offences. He was given a six-month detention and training order for his last, for theft, in May, 2013.