A man stole two mailbags awaiting distribution from a North-East railway station, a court heard yesterday.

John Kirk, 31, picked them up from a Royal Mail trolley on platform one at Darlington station, and hid them in a rubbish bin to collect later.

A cleaner spotted the mailbags in the refuse, and video evidence trapped Kirk, said Shaun Dryden, prosecuting.

Roger Hunt, defending, told Teesside Crown Court that Kirk, of Kenilworth Drive, Darlington, was drunk.

Judge Guy Whitburn jailed him for 12 months.