Two heroin addicts stole more than £200 worth of whiskey from a supermarket.
Marc David Lea, 28, of Manor Road, and William Edward Ripley, 31, of Mount Pleasant Road, both in Hastings, pleaded guilty to shoplifting when they appeared before Hastings magistrates.
The court heard they walked into Aldi in London Road, B
exhill, just after 1pm on November 25 and put £215.76 of Highland Whiskey into a shopping trolley.
The duo wheeled the trolley out to the car park and made off the alcohol.
Jeremy King, prosecuting, said: "The theft was not discovered until the following day when the store manager viewed the CCTV.
"One of the defendants returned to the store the next day and was registered by the manager.
"The police were called and arrested Mr Ripley and Mr Lea."
Hastings magistrates heard Lea had two previous convictions for theft in 1997 and one for possessing an indecent photograph in 2002.
Ripley has a list of previous convictions dating back to 1992, including for burglary and theft.
Aiden Harvey, defending Lea, said: "He was using heroin on a regular basis.
"He was suffering from withdrawal symptoms, he needed the money to buy drugs and this is why the offence happened.
"He has now stablised and does not need the money to buy drugs."
Kim Goodall, defending Ripley, said: "He admitted what he did in interview.
"It was a particularly stupid thing for him to do.
"He was short of money prior to Christmas and resorted to his old ways.
"It was a shame as he was doing so well."
Both men are currently on methadone.
Mr Goodall added: "He (Ripley) is someone who had a bad heroin habit, but appears to have sorted himself out.
"He apologises to the court today."
The case was adjourned for pre-sentance reports until January 28.
Both men were granted unconditional bail.
