A 42-year-old Lithuanian national of no fixed abode received a seven-month prison sentence at Belfast Magistrates' Court for burglary with intent to steal and criminal damage.

Gvidas Malinauskas entered the Union Street Bar in Belfast city centre through an unlocked front door at around 9am on 21 September 2024. He went to the upstairs dressing room and stayed until just after midday.

CCTV footage captured him wearing a white fluffy coat, pink boots and a long wig. He returned about an hour later in the same boots and a beige catsuit.

Malinauskas went back to the dressing room shortly after and left in a blue bodysuit and blonde wig. Later that afternoon, a performer found him there with a black catsuit around his knees, a pink fluffy top and a red wig.

The performer alerted the bar manager. Staff later checked the costumes and found some wet with stains and a smell of urine, while others were ripped. Damage totalled just under £1,100.

Defence counsel Chris Sherrard stated Malinauskas had been drunk and did not comprehend his presence in the bar. Sherrard noted no evidence linked the actions to hostility towards performers based on sexual orientation.

Sherrard added that Malinauskas had remained in custody since the incident. The court heard he faces separate extradition proceedings over alleged dishonesty offences in Lithuania.

District Judge George Conner imposed the sentence and noted credit for the guilty plea and clear record.