A Woonona man has fronted court accused of stealing clothing from a charity bin.
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Police allege Darren James Turner took multiple items of clothing from a bag he found lying in front of Mission Australia at Bellambi just after midnight on Wednesday.
The bag contained an array of women’s clothing, including a pink bed shirt, a “Rottweiller print dress”, four caps, a tie-dyed t-shirt and a black shawl, police said.
Turner allegedly put the items into his orange and pink Adidas back pack before heading west along Bellambi Lane.
Turner later told officers he wanted to gift the clothing to his ex-girlfriend.
Meantime, police only found the clothing while carrying out a search of Turner’s backpack after they discovered him rummaging through a utility shed at the rear of the Bellambi Hotel around 12.30am.
He was placed him under arrest for a suspected break and enter, however Turner told officers the shed’s wooden door was already open when he arrived, which was later confirmed by the hotel manager.
However, Turner allegedly admitted to stealing a number of items from the shed after police discovered the loot in his backpack, along with the clothes.
Included in the haul from the shed was two energy saving light bulbs, a pair of bolt cutters, a hose nozzle, five bottles of Hahn Super Dry beer and 100 plastic ice bags.
Turner was charged with two counts of larceny and refused polcie bail.
In court on Wednesday, defence lawyer Laura Fennell said Turner made frank admissions about his actions and that the value of the property was low.
Registrar Tina McKenna granted Turner conditional bail and adjourned the case to January 23.
