A Somali man was jailed for 18 months after admitting to stealing a small amount of cash from a van.

Mohammed Nur, 34, pleaded guilty to theft from a van in Marsa on Thursday afternoon.

Mr Nur, who resides at the Marsa open centre, was also charged with slightly injuring the vehicle’s owner. Police Inspector Robert Vella told Magistrate Neville Camilleri that Domnic Spencer parked his van in Marsa outside a shop where he stopped to buy an item.

When he came out, he found Mr Nur in the van rummaging through some small change.

He tried to pull Mr Nur out of the van but the accused became aggressive and slightly injured him, the prosecuting officer said. Mr Nur also pleaded guilty to possession of a knife, breaching the peace and committing a crime during the term of a suspended sentence.

Lawyer Cedric Mifsud, the defendant’s legal aid lawyer, said his client had problems because he was an immigrant and could not find a job, which led to him “doing such silly things”.