A 39-year-old man admitted to stealing a lawnmower when he appeared in Magistrates' Court on Friday.

The court heard from Crown counsel Michael McColm that sometime between March 7 and 8, Neville Woods entered a garage at a Middle Road, Southampton property and stole a lawnmower worth $300.

The resident of the house noticed that the mower was missing and checked the surveillance camera and saw Woods enter then exit the premises. They called Police who viewed the video.

On March 31, Police searched Woods' house, on Mount Zion Road, Southampton, and found the lawnmower. Woods was arrested and taken to Somerset Police Station.

He first denied the charges and then admitted to taking the lawnmower on an earlier date, not the date in question.

"I've been staying at Mount Zion Road for two months. When I got there, the place looked like a jungle so I wanted to fix it up to please my honey," he said. "I was going to the gas station and I saw a garage with the door open and I went to see if I could find a lawnmower there and they did have one so I took it. I had all intentions of giving it back.

"A few days passed and I went to see if they had got a new lawnmower and they didn't so I was going to go and get the one I had and bring it back and they arrested me."

He added: "I have been trying to change my life around. I'm going to church. I hope that you have some sort of leniency on me. All I need is a job."

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner sentenced him to two years imprisonment suspended for 24 months.