A MAN who broke into Chard Police Station and stole uniform clothing said he opened the locked door using his Conservative Party card.

Joshua Bonehill-Paine, 18, of Higher Kingston, admitted burglary and assaulting two police officers who tried to arrest him when he appeared before magistrates at Yeovil last week.

Prosecuting, Christine Hart told the court that Bonehill-Paine had turned up at the station drunk at around 2am on March 11.

He told the officer on duty he had been thrown out of the Phoenix Hotel and wanted a lift home. The officer told him he could not take him home but made him a cup of tea and locked the door after he left.

Later, at around 3.20am, PC Matthew Turner saw Bonehill-Paine standing near the station wearing a police-issue balaclava and top. Recognising he was not an officer, PC Turner asked where he got the uniform. Bonehill-Paine pointed towards the police station and said: "Do you know how I got in? Your security is s***. I got in with my card."

Mr Bonehill-Paine kicked out when efforts were made to arrest him, assaulting two officers in the process.

Later at Yeovil Police Station he told officers he had used his Conservative Party card to open the lock because he was cold.

Miss Hart told the court: "He slid the card down in the door and it opened. There was no damage to the lock or the door. He went in firstly for the warmth and hoped to find a jacket. He said he had every intention to bring the clothes back in the morning."

Bonehill-Paine also pleaded guilty to criminal damage to a flower bed in Preston Road, Yeovil, on March 30.

Defending, Michaela Rose said his client had been co-operative with the police and made a full admission at the earliest opportunity.

She asked magistrates to "bear in mind the strange circumstances" of the offence and said the burglary was committed after he had already presented himself at the police station requesting assistance. She said his intention was to get out of the cold and he intended to return the items.

She added that since the offences were committed Bonehill-Paine had been seeing a psychotherapist, had stopped drinking and has been accepted to re-sit his GCSEs at Yeovil College in September.

For the offences of burglary, assault and criminal damage, magistrates sentenced him to a 12-month community order including 100 hours' unpaid work and supervision by the probation service.

Magistrates said the sentence had been reduced because of his early guilty plea and made no order for costs or compensation.

They advised him to take advantage of the support he was getting and wished him luck at college.

After the case, a spokeswoman for Avon and Somerset Constabulary said: "This was an isolated incident and the offender was apprehended very quickly.

"Security is always paramount at all of our stations across the force area. A full investigation took place immediately and security was reviewed."