A man who was on bail over a fight likened to scenes from the Wild West - at which he had an imitation gun - stole from his employer out of anger.

Adrian Preston, 40, of no fixed abode, appeared at Preston Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday, May 7) from custody.

Prosecuting, Lisa Worsley told the court that on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, Preston was on bail for another crime he had committed.

In 2023, Preston was involved in scenes a judge compared to the ‘Wild West’ when “violent confrontation” occurred between two groups on Rothesay Road, Blackburn.

For this, he was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.

While on conditional bail for this offence, Preston stole a roll of lead from his employer at the time.

The court heard that due to snowy conditions, Preston was unable to carry out a job he was working on as a roofer.

However, when he returned to work, he found out the householder had employed another roofer to complete the job.

As he was out of pocket for materials and a week's work, he took the lead to compensate for his losses.

Preston, who has 31 convictions for 74 offences, including some of dishonesty, pleaded guilty to theft.

Recorder Peter Atherton sentenced Preston to two months in custody, concurrent to his current sentence, resulting in his release date remaining in January 2025.

He said: "The circumstances of this theft have been laid out to me, and there is a clear reason why you stole this lead.

"But that does not make it the right one. However I do accept you are already in custody for a lengthy sentence, with the appropriate punishment for this offence being a community order, or a short custodial sentence."