An offender with an “encyclopaedia of offences” to his name has been spared jail after stealing a £400 television from a Weymouth home.

Michael Tambling, 46, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court for stealing cash from the till of Jasmine Chinese Restaurant, Dorchester Road, and a television from the flat upstairs.

Tambling, who appeared via video link from Exeter prison, was handed a two-year community order subject to a 12-month drug rehabilitation requirement.

Brent Morris, 30, of King Street in Weymouth, was also sentenced to a 12-month community order subject to a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement after admitting to handling the stolen television.

The court heard that the two had met when they were both living in a multi-occupancy house in the Lodmoor Hill area and had gone out on the morning of January 29 to buy drugs.

Roger Griffiths QC, prosecuting, said several witnesses saw the pair “acting suspiciously” around the parade of shops. At around 9.30am the owner of the restaurant had been asleep in her flat upstairs when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

Mr Griffiths said the victim was scared and remained in her bedroom for 30 minutes before leaving to discover her 43-inch television had been stolen along with around £10 from the restaurant till. The court was told that while Morris had not been party to the theft he allowed Tambling to store the television in his room, knowing it had been stolen.

Defending Tambling, Charlie Gabb said: “In many respects his greatest crime is throwing away his life. Simply throwing him in prison again is a waste of taxpayers’ money. His behaviour since he has been in prison show a there could be a ray of light penetrating the gloom.”

Tambling told the court he was eager to change saying “all I want is for someone to give me a chance.”

Judge Robert Linford said he was faced with a tough decision in sentencing Tambling because of the “encyclopaedia of offences” against him.

Addressing Tambling he said: “It is almost inevitable that when people such as yourself appear before a court they must be imprisoned. But, at some point, some alternative has to be tried to try and avoid you dying in prison.”