FIVE men knocked a hole in the side of a cash and carry warehouse then stole £7,000 worth of cigarettes, a court heard yesterday.

Ian Robinson, 18, Benjamin Kent, 19, David Drummond, 18, Stuart Levy, 21, and Scott Duncan, 20, admitted burglary when they appeared at South Durham Magistrates' Court.

James Thomas, prosecuting, said the burglary, at Booker Cash and Carry, in Banks Road, Darlington, on Saturday, September 13, had been pre-planned.

He said: "They have knocked a hole in the side of the building and some £7,000 worth of cigarettes has been stolen.

"We do concede that a considerable amount of cigarettes have been recovered but it is said that some £1,695 worth of cigarettes are still outstanding.

"Booker Cash and Carry has suffered a considerable amount of damage."

He said a 3ft by 4ft hole had been knocked into the side of the premises.

Stephen Andrews, defending Drummond, said that though the men accepted they had burgled the property, they did not admit making the hole.

He said: "The hole was already present. They stumbled across the hole."

The case was adjourned until October 21.

Drummond, of Teal Road, Darlington; Robinson, of The Broadway, Darlington; Kent, of Strait Lane, Hurworth; Duncan, of Haughton Road, Darlington, and Levy, of Brough Court, Newton Aycliffe were granted unconditional bail.