Robin Hood was famous for stealing from the rich and giving to the poor but Antoine Raynor had no such altruistic motive when he stole from the bar that bears the same name.

Raynor, an unemployed heroin addict, broke into the Robin Hood pub two nights in a row and swiped a total of 41 packets of cigarettes from behind the bar worth $183.

He admitted in Magistrates' Court yesterday that he'd stolen them to fund his drug habit. Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner was unimpressed by his pleas for leniency, and jailed him for three years in punishment.

Prosecutor Larissa Burgess told the court that Raynor was caught on CCTV during his first overnight raid on the Robin Hood on Wednesday, when he made off with 20 packs of cigarettes. The manager passed the information on to the Police.

In the early hours of Thursday, Police on patrol spotted a suspicious vehicle parked by the Bermuda High School for Girls, around 50 yards from the Robin Hood in Pembroke. Then Raynor walked around the corner and got searched by the officers who found he had 21 packets of cigarettes on him.

When the pub CCTV cameras were checked once again, they showed Raynor had broken into the bar for a second time earlier that night. The 41-year-old from Mount Hill, Pembroke, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft. Ms Burgess said he has similar previous convictions and was on probation at the time of the latest thefts.

The defendant told the Magistrate: "I've got a bad habit. I've got a heroin problem. What can I say?"

He claimed the courts had not given him help to kick his habit. But Mr. Warner pointed out he'd been offered therapy several times via drug court then got kicked out for re-offending. The Senior Magistrate listed a host of previous crimes committed by Raynor in recent years for night-time break-ins. He was last released from prison on August 20.

"It's the same thing over and over again," chided Mr. Warner. "You may have a drug problem but there's only so much these courts can do, and there's only so much the probation service can do. And obviously over and over again you've rejected it. So in all the circumstances there's no other way to deal with you other than an immediate custodial sentence."

Raynor also stands accused of stealing a $20 bottle of Cockspur rum from Arnold's supermarket on Church Street, Pembroke, on October 21. He denies the charge and a trial date was fixed for December 17.