A SERIAL thief who stole a charity’s collection tin is apologising for a second time after stealing teddy bears used to teach children first aid.

John Kirk, of Whitby Way, Darlington, admitted stealing a holdall full of the training toys from a car on Greenbank Road just months after he was spared jail for stealing a poppy collection tin from Royal British Legion volunteers, in Barnard Castle.

Avoiding jail for his latest theft, his victim, first-aid trainer, Sarah Lllewellyn, branded his sentence “disgusting” and said she has lost all faith in the justice system.

Newton Aycliffe Magistrates today (January 29), heard how Mrs Llewellyn discovered Kirk asleep in her BMW car on Tuesday (January 27), at about 9.40pm.

Joanne Hesse, prosecuting, said: “She believed the defendant, who she had never seen before, had been sleeping and looked at her as if disturbed and said: ‘Is this your car?’”

“She tells him to get out of the car and then returns home and calls the police.”

The court heard how police officers stopped Kirk shortly afterwards and recovered a blue LED light that had been taken from the car but there was no sign of the holdall.

“He was arrested and in the interview he said he had been drinking six litres of cider and could not remember entering the car,” Ms Hesse added.

“He offered an apology to the complainant but said he could not remember and was unable to offer any help to the police to find the holdall.”

Michael Clarke, defending, said Kirk was made homeless after being evicted from the East View Guest House, in Darlington, because he had had his housing benefit stopped.

“He was trying to sleep somewhere where it was warmer,” he said.

“He had been drinking and apologised to the owner of the car straight away and was clearly remorseful for what had happened.”

Magistrates gave Kirk a nine-month conditional discharge as well as ordering him to pay £65 in compensation.

However, Mrs Llewellyn, 41, who has been inundated with replacement bears after a Northern Echo appeal, said she was “livid” with the sentencing.

“He’s taken a massive amount of business from me. He has to pay £65 in compensation whereas I have lost nearly £2,500 in 36 hours in work and parents who are poorly have lost the opportunity for their children to help them if something happens to them,” she said.

“The police were amazing but I think with regards to the justice system, I’m livid and furious.”