A man breached a suspended sentence by taking a mallet to a parked van in Bury St Edmunds while drunk, a court heard.

A security guard heard the sound of what he thought was a car being broken into in Olding Road on November 21 around 10am, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

But the noise was Michael McCulloch, 46, and another man taking turns to hit a Vauxhall Corsa van with a mallet, causing damage to the vehicle.

When the security guard viewed the CCTV, he believed both men were drunk as they were swaying as they walked, Phillip Farr, prosecuting, told the court.

Police were called and McCulloch was located in nearby Western Way, but did not comment in police interview.

After initially pleading not guilty to causing criminal damage before magistrates on November 23, he changed his plea to guilty on December 1.

The conviction put him in breach of a suspended sentence and of a conditional discharge.

The court heard that McCulloch, of Olding Road, Bury St Edmunds, had 55 previous convictions for 168 offences.

McCulloch, who was not represented at his hearing, apologised to the court and admitted he had been drinking that day.

He said it was a "drunk and stupid" offence.

Recorder John Brooke-Smith said: "This was a bad outburst of destructive violence towards a vehicle at 10 o'clock in the morning when you were drunk."

Recorder Brooke-Smith activated half of the suspended sentence - six weeks - and sentenced McCulloch to two weeks' imprisonment for the criminal damage.

But due to time already served on remand, McCulloch was released from prison following the hearing.