Man admits taking $20 from SPCA charity box at Noah's Ark Backpackers

A Greymouth man has admitted to taking a donation box from Noah's Ark Backparkers. Photo/Google Maps

A Greymouth man who stole $20 from an SPCA charity box at Noah's Ark Backpackers was told he had insulted both the charity and the community.

James Castlehouse, 22, admitted the theft along with a charge of driving while disqualified when he appeared in the Greymouth District Court on Tuesday.

Castlehouse put the charity box under his jacket and walked out of the backpackers on March 22.

On the driving charge, he told police when stopped that he needed to get some milk.

Lawyer George Linder said Castlehouse had two jobs and when a lift to one of them did not arrive he risked it and drove.

As for the theft, he was "very, very apologetic".

"He visited a friend at the backpackers and had brain fade. He saw the charity box and took it."

Judge Robert Murfitt said "brain fade" was a good way of describing the crime.

"Theft of donation boxes is always an offence which gets a lot of public recrimination. It was an insult to the community and the charity."

The judge ordered Castlehouse to pay reparation to the SPCA of $200, "which is 10 times the amount you stole".

He was convicted on both charges and sentenced to 50 hours of community work and disqualified from driving for six months from October 7, when his current disqualification ends.

- Greymouth Star