A Devonshire man admitted to stealing almost $4,000 worth of electronics yesterday in Magistrates' Court.

Treadwell Smith, of Middle Road, pleaded guilty to stealing a silver Motorola phone, an Olympus digital camera and two Apple iPods — all valued at $3,995 between September 17 and October 2.

The 21-year-old was also charged with using the cell phone from September 17 to November 6 racking up a phone bill of more than $12,000.

The court heard from Senior Crown counsel Paula Tyndale that the complainant reported the matter to Police when he received the outstanding bill from AT&T.

Smith was arrested December 29 and admitted during a taped Police interview to breaking into the complainant's home and stealing the items.

In court, the defendant said: "I want to apologise. I didn't have a place to stay then. I was just doing anything at the time without thinking."

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner ordered a Social Inquiry Report to be ready before he sentences Smith on April 10. He was given $2,000 bail.