A MAN who broke into a Clitheroe restaurant and stole money from the till was traced by fingerprints left at the scene, a court was told.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Mohammed Shazan claimed a friend worked at the Taste of India, Whalley Road, and he had been helping him but the owner said all the staff were members of his family and none of them knew the defendant.

Shazan, 23, of Kemple View, Clitheroe, was convicted in his absence of burglary after twice failing to attend for his trial.

He was ordered to do 150 hours community punishment and pay £270 compensation.

Eddie Harrison, prosecuting, said entry had been forced through a back door after the restaurant had closed. He said the till had been moved into the kitchen area and then emptied.

As well as the £70 he had taken, Shazan caused £200 worth of damage, the court was told.