A man broke into a shop in a bid to get some fishing bait after he broke his spade digging for maggots, a court has heard.

Police were called to a shop in Garden Street, Cromer at about 4am on Monday (February 11) following reports of suspicious activity and arrested a man.

Eugene Gould, 49, was charged with attempted burglary and appeared at Norwich Magistrates Court today (Tuesday 12 February).

Gould, formerly of no fixed abode but now of Melbourne Hotel, Cromer, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary.

Richard Mann, mitigating, said it was the defendant's first burglary attempt in more than 20 years. He said it had been a one off as Gould had wanted some fishing gear.

The court heard Gould had been digging for bait but the spade broke and he wanted to get some bait so broke into the shop.

He was sentenced to an 18 month community order, including 25 days rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR).

He was also made the subject of a curfew, from 7pm to 7am, for 10 weeks.