TWO cousins who stole hundreds of pounds of Lego from a Chester store have been fined.

Dylan Sweeney, 21, of Duchy Road, Salford, Manchester, and Bernerd Sweeney, 20, of Warrington Road, Runcorn, both pleaded guilty at Chester Magistrates Court on Tuesday, February 7 to shoplifting.

Prosecuting, Michael O'Kane said it was on January 17 when the two defendants were seen at the B&M store in Old Seals Way on CCTV by a staff member.

The pair were seen concealing hundreds of pounds worth of Lego and making no attempt to pay.

They charged by a security guard on their exit and got into a Toyota Corolla driven by Bernerd Sweeney. The details of the car were passed on to police, who later stopped them and found the boxes of Lego in the back of the car. The items were recovered.

Bernerd Sweeney had no previous convictions while Dylan Sweeney had one previous conviction for drink-driving.

Defending, Richard Sibeon said the cousins had entered prompt guilty pleas and, while there was clearly a degree of planning, the offence was "not sophisticated".

He added while the sum of £359.98 of Lego may sound like a lot, in terms of volume it did not amount to that many boxes of Lego, given that one medium-sized box could cost about £100.

The two defendants were "relatively immature" and had a debt they wished to repay. They had also been accompanied to court by their "disappointed parents".

Magistrates fined the par £120 each and told them to each pay £60 court costs and a £48 victim surcharge.