A man who tried to pull a cash machine off a wall in Norwich, causing more than £12,000 worth of damage, has been sentenced to a 12-month community order.

Thomas Grimsey, 27, was captured on CCTV causing criminal damage to the HSBC cash point on London Street in November of last year.

On Tuesday, Norwich Crown Court heard how at around 6.35pm on November 26 Grimsey was seen cycling down the street before stopping at the HSBC branch and attempting to use a newly-installed cash point.

But, the court heard, when the machine swallowed his card and would not work he became angry, and, in an attempt to retrieve his card, was captured on CCTV trying to pull and then remove the ATM from the wall.

Peter Gair, prosecuting, said Grimsey could be seen on the CCTV footage attempting to remove the machine from the wall for around four minutes before giving up and cycling off.

He said the cash point had cost the bank £12,180.49 to replace.

Mitigating, Andrew Oliver told the court how at the time of the incident Grimsey had recently come out of a unhealthy relationship and was sofa surfing. He said Grimsey was looking for a cash point to withdraw his benefits money in order to pay the friend he had been staying with.

The court heard that while the HSBC cash point had been installed it was not operational and there was no signage to make this clear.

Mr Oliver said: 'This wasn't a deliberate attempt to get money out of the machine, this was a desperate attempt to get his card back.'

Grimsey appeared at Norwich Crown Court via a video link from Norwich Prison.

Sentencing Grimsey to a 12-month community order Judge Stephen Holt told him that he had taken into account his early guilty plea of causing criminal damage.

He told him he understood that he had been 'frustrated' when the ATM swallowed his card but said: 'What you did was a criminal act. You left your debit card behind there was CCTV and finger prints.'