We've featured some pretty clueless criminals on these pages, but Kendal thief Stephen Kirkbride arguably takes the biscuit for wearing a stolen jacket - the very jacket he was in court accused of shoplifting - to court... in Kendal.

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Kendal 'thief' Stephen Kirkbride wore the allegedly stolen jacket to court - in Kendal (Cascade)

Kirkbride, 46, who was found guilty of stealing the 125 pounds coat, was caught red-handed when staff from Kendals Sports Direct shop recognised the very jacket they accused him of taking when he turned up to court with it on.

The jacket itself, a designer-label Craghopper waterproof, was draped over a chair while the defendant stood in front of the judge at South Lakeland Magistrates Court.

It was seized when store manager Deborah Robson pointed it out to the attending police officer.

Kirkbride, of no fixed address, claimed he bought the coat from a charity shop, saying it was 'damaged but... a bargain'.

However, prosecutor David Duke argued that the coat's large tear marks were caused by Kirkbride cutting out the security tags - and the magistrate dismissed his story as completely implausible.

'Youre making this up as you go along, arent you?' Mr Duke added.

Kendal police had already found one part of the coat - its inner fleece - at Kirkbrides previous address, after studying CCTV footage from Sports Direct.

However, officers had not been able to locate the gortex outer layer until it turned up in the courtroom.

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