A 45-YEAR-OLD man who broke into a charity cafe had previously been helped by the organisation which assisted people with addictions and mental health problems.

Blackburn magistrates heard Paul Alan Gill was seen by a taxi driver making a hole in the shop window in the early hours of the morning and dragging a chair through so he could gain entry.

The driver alerted the police who caught Gill inside the premises.

Gill, of Edmund Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty to burglary of Aroma 7, Infant Street, Accrington, with intent to steal. He was sentenced to a total of 38 weeks in prison after the magistrates heard the offence put him in breach of two suspended prison sentences.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said the targeted premises belonged to a charitable organisation.

"The defendant has been offered help by the very same charity he has then gone and burgled," said Miss Allan. "He had taken small amounts of cash from the till and a tips box when the police arrived. He caused £700 worth of damage and the charity also had to bear the cost of boarding up the window."