Patrick O’Hara, 47, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty at Belfast Magistrates’ Court to burglary at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast city centre and possession of Class C drugs.

A staff member left her handbag in an office area at the Donegall Street cathedral on December 16 last year. She returned that night to find the bag open and her mobile phone, car keys and wireless headphones missing.

CCTV footage identified O’Hara. Police arrested him the next day in the area and recovered the headphones along with pregabalin and valium pills.

O’Hara first denied entering the cathedral. He later admitted the burglary and stated he bought the drugs for £35 on the street for pain relief.

His defence lawyer, Pearse MacDermott, described it as a technical burglary from a non-public area. O’Hara reported no memory of the incident due to drug use and asked to apologise to the victim.

O’Hara had a prior burglary conviction from May 21 last year at an easyHotel on Howard Street. He took a safe with a small amount of money from reception.

District Judge George Conner sentenced O’Hara to five months in custody based on his guilty pleas.