A MAN who had been thrown out of his hostel accommodation walked up to an all-night petrol station and threw a rock at the payment hatch.

Blackburn magistrates heard Jason James Firth then gave the attendant his name and sat down and waited for the police to arrive.

Firth, 41, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to causing £500 worth of damage to a window belonging to the Texaco garage on Grimshaw Park, Blackburn. He was ordered to pay £250 compensation.

Parveen Akhtar, prosecuting, said the window was made of reinforced glass which had cracked but not smashed.

She said police arrested Firth at the garage at 4.15am.

Paul Huxley, defending, said his client had simply walked up to the petrol station, launched a stone at the window and waited for the police to arrest him.

"He had been thrown out of the Islington Motel and had nowhere to go," said Mr Huxley.