Two teenagers who stole bandages from Ipswich Town’s football ground, while one was carrying knives, have been warned they are in “serious trouble” and may face jail.

Eduard Remi and Ilija Solovjovs, both aged 18, were caught inside the stadium late on Tuesday, June 5, after claiming to have entered via an open gate.

At Suffolk Magistrates’ Court on Monday, the pair pleaded guilty to burglary, while Solovojovs, of no fixed abode, also admitted to several knife possession offences.

Magistrates heard how a security guard arrived at the ground in Portman Road at around 11.25pm to find lights on in the Co-op stand.

Police were called and the two teens we found in a corridor walking towards the officer with their arms raised in a “surrender position”.

The court heard one of the young trespassers told his friend: “I can’t believe we got caught stealing bandages.”

When asked whether he had been in trouble before, Remi, of Wherstead Road, was reported to have told police he “had to start somewhere”. “They both started laughing,” said Katharine Houghton, prosecuting.

Ms Houghton said Solovjovs admitted to police he had knives in his bag, as well as a ball hammer. Magistrates heard Solovjovs had been carrying the weapons as he had been evicted from the YMCA and claimed he had nowhere to keep them.

Remi told police they was not aware his friend was carrying the weapons and said he “never set out to commit an offence”.

In a statement, Remi said he and Solovjovs “just wanted to take a look around” and took the bandages from a first aid kit as a “spur of the moment” decision.

Defending, Helen Korfanty said the two men were “young and immature” and although they had taken a “light hearted view” at first, they now recognised the serious nature of their crimes.

Chairman of the bench Michael Sweeting told the pair to return to court on July 25 so that a probation report could be completed. To Remi he said “the chance of prison is very definitely still there”, while to Solvojovs he warned to “expect a custodial sentence. “If you go out in the street with a knife, the law says you will go to prison,” he added.

Mr Sweeting told the pair “probation could be your only chance”. “But you, gentlemen, are in serious trouble,” he added.