A homeless drifter, who sat down to a three-course Indian meal knowing his pockets were empty, was jailed by magistrates.

Wantage magistrates gave Alan Brown, 38, of no fixed address, eight days' custody after hearing he had a long record of similar offences. Brown admitted obtaining property by deception.

Shan Saunders, prosecuting, said he had half a dozen previous convictions in 1997 alone for similar offences, for which he had received prison terms from courts as far apart as Blackpool and Kent.

The Prince of India restaurant in Ock Street, Abingdon, had called police when Brown told them he had no means to pay his £16.45 bill. He told officers he had hitched a lift from Warwick, and thought he had money on him.

Maria-Elena Pozuelo, defending, said it was clear Brown had lived a "nomadic existence", committing offences at various locations.

Story date: Thursday 04 February

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