the thrill'' after they stole a motorcycle and used it to snatch bags off visitors on mopeds.

Senior Magistrate Will Francis told the court this week that Sean Albert Eugene Smith, 22, and Clyde Ian Saltus, 23, need to be punished "strictly and severely'' for threatening Bermuda's lucrative tourist trade.

"This type of offence, stealing from tourists while they are out riding their cycles is extremely serious. It threatens the whole industry,'' he said.

"They said they did this because of the thrill of it as if riding up behind visitors to Bermuda is an appropriate way of getting a kick.'' Smith, of St. Augustine Lane, Pembroke, and Saltus, of Happy Valley Road, Pembroke, both pleaded guilty in Magistrates' Court to one charge of removing a motorcycle from a rental shop and two counts of stealing.

Crown Counsel Larry Mussenden said the crime "struck at the heart of one of the pillars of our economy, the tourist industry''.

"A punishment that will put people off committing this type of offence is needed,'' he said.

He said Saltus and Smith were erecting a tent for their employer Rent-it-all at Castle Harbour Marriott on October 12 when they stole a set of keys from a bike in the rental shop.

When they returned to the resort to erect a second tent they removed the cycle worth $1,200.

Five days later they used it to steal bags off tourists driving mopeds -- one a Rhode Island man's knapsack containing a camera and wallet, and the other an English woman's handbag which held a camera, a purse and sunglasses.

Police arrested Smith and Saltus the same day, and they admitted committing the thefts "for the excitement''.

Defence counsel Tyrone Chin said the two were "young and impressionable'' and since all the goods had been handed over to the Police a community order would be suitable.

But Mr. Francis said the two men should get a "taste of prison''. He ordered a social inquiry report and remanded the two men in custody until sentencing on December 1.