'When I get drunk I get angry' says man in court for smashing windows in Milton Keynes

Stuart Brown, 34, handed himself in to police and admitted smashing the windows of the Beefeater restaurant, a court heard.

Police let him out on bail, but Brown promptly went on another window-smashing rampage - this time in Aylesbury.

He broke the windows of a Travel Lodge in the town, the Buckinghamshire County Council offices and a fitness centre.

His final act of mindless destruction was visiting a car dealership in Aylesbury and breaking the windows on seven different vehicles, causing £1,800 worth of damage.

Aylesbury Crown Court heard that Brown had tried to explain his actions to police by saying he had been drunk at the time of the offences. He told them: "When I get drunk, I get angry."

Judge Francis Sheridan told the court he would have sent Brown straight to jail but for the intervention of defending counsel John Lamb, who said the defendant was suffering from long-term chronic depressive disorder together with alcohol dependence syndrome.

Sally Vickery, representing the probation service, said a package of community interventions could be put in place to help Brown, of no fixed abode, stay away from alcohol while helping him to find a place to live.

The court heard that Brown had been out of prison on licence at the time of the window smashing and had 14 convictions for 40 offences, 31 of which were offences against property.

Judge Sheridan agreed to adjourn the sentence until July 27 to consider whether Brown could be punished without being sent to prison.

He told Brown: "I am telling you straight, I am keeping all sentencing options open. You are a habitual offender and the reason for adjourning is simply to see whether or not, more in hope than in expectation.... you commit to reform."