TWO Polish men stole more than £2,000 of goods from an airport shop after losing money in a perfume scam, a court heard today.

Kamil Lagan and Bartomiej Wilzcab had flown to Britain to meet an internet contact to sell a consignment of perfume they had bought cheaply at car boot sales in Poland.

But when the contact tried to undercut them they pulled out of the deal and feared they would be left out of pocket.

They stole perfume from Alpha Airport Shopping, at Durham Tees Valley Airport on Thursday, before boarding a flight for Heathrow on their way home.

Bill Brabham, prosecuting, said police had been alerted to the pair's suspicious behaviour by other passengers so they were ordered to leave the plane.

When their luggage was searched, 69 bottles of ladies' fragrance worth £2,276 was recovered.

Claire Brinton, mitigating, said neither has a criminal record in the UK or at home and said they stole the goods when they saw an opportunity in the shop.

She said it was an attempt to recoup the £840 cost of flights- more than four times the average monthly wage in Poland- and they were remorseful and ashamed of their actions.

Lagan, 23, and Wilzcab, 32, pleaded guilty to the theft when they appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates Court yesterday.

District Judge Michael Wood declined jurisdiction and committed them to Teesside Crown Court for sentencing.

He said: "This has all the hallmarks of a professional endeavour therefore I consider my powers of punishment are inadequate."

They were remanded in custody until their next court appearance, on a date to be fixed.