A CREWKERNE thief who fled hospital after being caught red-handed was stopped in his tracks after crashing into a door he mistook for an automatic one.

Timothy Read, 29, of Kithill, admitted entering Yeovil District Hospital as a trespasser and stealing a Dewalt Drill and a charger worth £119 on January 24 at Yeovil Magistrates Court.

The court heard Read was seen by staff acting suspiciously, wandering around different wards and into restricted treatment areas.

When he was found sitting on a stairwell, he appeared nervous and was hiding a drill. He said he had been visiting his grandmother, the court was told.

Magistrates heard that when no such patient was traced in the hospital he made a dash for the exit, but ran into the door and when he was detained, claimed he had found the drill in a bin.

Prosecutor Christine Hart told magistrates Read went to the hospital at 9.40pm outside of visiting hours and was seen by staff and on CCTV on various levels of the building.

She said: “Staff alerted security and they saw he had entered restricted areas including treatment rooms and was found on the stairwell of level three.

“He said he was visiting his grandmother but no one was there and the security officer saw a drill had appeared on the seat behind him.

“He repeatedly asked to use the toilet and when he stood up a charger was in his possession.

“The police were called and he pushed the table over and made a run for the exit, but was stopped by a security door which he ran into after mistaking it for an automatic opening door.”

When Read was arrested he maintained he found he drill in a bin, saying he had gone to the hospital intending to get a chlamydia test sample bottle in order to make a bong to smoke drugs, the court was told.

He saw the drill and when he went back to get more bottles he saw it and took it.

Joseph Wright, defending, said the offence was aggravated because it occurred in a hospital and Read was currently back living with his father in Crewkerne.

The magistrates adjourned the case until February 19 for a pre-sentence report to be prepared by the Probation Service. Until then Read was released on bail with a condition that he must report to Yeovil police station twice weekly.