A THIEF held his hands up when approached by shop security staff and the bottle of Jack Daniels he had hidden up his jacket fell to the floor and smashed.

Keith David Sharret 34, of Bridge Street, Darwen, pleaded guilty to theft and Blackburn magistrates granted a conditional discharge for 12 months.

He was ordered to pay £18 compensation and £75 costs.

Kevin Preston, defending, said Sharret had been extremely drunk at the time of the offence after going out on a "bender".

"He was so drunk that he put his hands in the air to surrender and dropped the bottle," Mr Preston told the court.