A drug addict was so desperate for cash that he stole meat from his mother's freezer before trying to sell it to neighbours, a court has heard.

Sean Dickson, 24, stole a £330 laptop and meat from his mother, Norwich Magistrates were told.

Following his arrest, and while on bail, the court heard Dickson went to his mother's home in Gorleston and removed steaks from her freezer before going round to near neighbours and seeing if they wanted to buy them.

The theft of the laptop on February 4 and the burglary at his mother's property on March 27 were part of a crime spree which included 10 thefts from shops between December last year and January, as well as two drugs offences - possession of amphetamine and cocaine - in February.

Dickson, of Marine Parade, Lowestoft, appeared at Norwich Magistrates Court having previously admitted all 14 charges.

Denise Holland, prosecuting, said there had been a 'significant amount of offending by this defendant, primarily shop lifting from various stores in and around the Great Yarmouth area'.

She said most of the offences were caught on CCTV.

Among the shops to be targeted by Dickson were the Co-op in Yarmouth, from which he stole a charity collection bucket containing £30, and a One Stop Shop in the town from which he stole jars of coffee worth £70.60.

Dickson also stole meat, fragrances, Yankee candle diffusers and razors worth various amounts from a number of other stores in the town during the spree.

Richard Mann, mitigating for Dickson, who magistrates were told had 35 previous court appearances, said the offences were all typical of 'someone who has an addiction to drugs and is stealing to fund a habit'.

But he said Dickson, who had a 'complicated' relationship with his mother, had cleaned himself up and was motivated to seek help and move forward with his life to pursue his goal of becoming a self-employed handyman.

Dickson was sentenced to a total of 26 weeks custody, suspended for 12 months.

He was ordered to pay his mother £330 in compensation.

As part of the suspended sentence he must also undertake a drug rehabilitation requirement.