A TRANSVESTITE heroin addict stole children's clothes in the hope of selling them for drug money.

Philip Garside snatched £111 of clothing from Boots in Lincoln's High Street – just weeks after a drug den he lived in was shut down.

Lincoln magistrates heard he had been living rough in the city ever since.

Daniel Paulson, prosecuting, said Garside was spotted by shop staff stuffing children's clothes into a bag on July 17.

He said: "In interview, he said he was going to sell the clothes to get money for drugs."

Garside, 37, admitted stealing the clothes.

Roisin McCaffrey, in mitigation, said Garside had been homeless for about five weeks.

She told magistrates Garside was still struggling to deal with his heroin addiction.

She said: "I don't think he is in the correct frame of mind.

"He is homeless and trying to fend for himself on the streets."

Garside was given a 12-month conditional discharge.