A HOMELESS man who "had not eaten for three weeks" was arrested while trying to break into a hostel looking for somewhere to sleep.
Two police community support officers were on patrol in Hull city centre on August 31, when they came across Andrew Edwards arguing with door staff at a hostel in Roper Street at 8pm.
He had been barred from the shelter because of a previous incident and they would not let him in.
Edwards, 47, was asking to speak to a friend called Neil and was standing in the doorway, preventing staff from closing the door.
One of the officers asked him to move, but Hull Crown Court heard he reacted aggressively and shouted: "I don't give a f***."
Staff managed to close the door and refused to open it to speak to him again, instead conversing with him through a window.
Helen Wheatley, prosecuting, said: "They advised the defendant his friend was on the premises, but could not be roused."
The officers told Edwards to come back later or the next day and he responded by kicking the door and the window and threatening to break the door down.
Miss Wheatley said staff inside the centre were "frightened" by his behaviour, but had not provided statements to the court.
Edwards continued acting aggressively and said: "I'll keep kicking the door in. I'm not moving."
He was arrested and co-operated, telling the officers he had a capped needle in his pocket, which he handed over.
The court heard Edwards had an appalling record, with 55 court appearances for 111 offences.
He had committed seven breaches of an antisocial behaviour order (Asbo) in the past 16 months.
He admitted breaching an Asbo and threatening to damage property.
But Joanna Golding, defending, said Edwards needed help, not punishment, and urged Judge Simon Jack to show him mercy.
She said: "For the past three weeks, he had had nothing to eat and nowhere to sleep.
"He wanted to speak to his friend to see if he could help. He was tired, emotional and angry."
Miss Golding described Edwards as "wholly inadequate" and said the needle had nothing to do with illegal drugs but was for epilepsy.
She said his main problem was his lack of accommodation, and said if he was jailed he would be "set up to fail" as he would only commit further offences on his release.
Miss Golding asked for him to be given a community supervision order that would help him find somewhere to stay.
Judge Jack described that as "completely exceptional", but after condemning his record, told Edwards: "That may be madness, that suggestion, but I'm going to adopt it, I'm going to give you a chance."
Sentencing Edwards to a 12-month community supervision order, the judge said: "You have to understand that this is a chance that perhaps you don't really deserve.
"Twelve months will be more than sufficient for the court to see whether you have taken that chance."
