A classic Two Ronnies sketch was invoked in court today as a thief admitted stealing four candles.
Ian Hamilton admitted stealing the items from a store in Dundee city centre.
Enunciating her description of the stolen items clearly to avoid Two Ronnies style confusion, fiscal depute Isma Mukhtar told Dundee Sheriff Court: “He stole four candles, valued at £19.”
As eyebrows raised amongst those in court recalling the classic scene Miss Mukhtar added: “Only two were recovered”.
Hamilton, 42, a prisoner at HMP Perth, pleaded guilty to a charge of theft by shoplifting committed at Card Factory in Dundee’s Murraygate on October 11 this year.
Defence solicitor Anika Jethwa said: “He has a dreadful record and is currently serving a sentence.
“However, he is due to be released from that today.“
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael deferred sentence until March next year for Hamilton to be of good behaviour upon his release.
The Two Ronnies 1976 sketch was previously voted one of the most memorable of all time by the British public.
It takes place in a hardware store where Ronnie Corbett is the shopkeeper and Ronnie Barker the customer, who asks for what sounds like four candles.
The shopkeeper then takes out four candles, but the customer merely repeats his request and the shopkeeper is confused.
The customer rephrases his request to reveal he in fact wanted “fork ‘andles”.
It continues in a similar vein while the customer makes his way through his shopping list and the shopkeeper becomes more and more frustrated.
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