A pair were fined £15 each and given conditional discharges for stealing a can of 99 pence cider from B&M Bargains.
Lee Patrick Dwyer, 31, of no fixed abode, and Martin Moore, 28, of Alexandra Road, Grantham, admitted taking the can on November 16.
They were monitored by security upon entering the store and were seen to take a can and head towards the back door of the store before putting it in a carrier bag and leaving.
They were stopped by police in Harlaxton Road a short time later; they did not have the can but it was found nearby and both men admitted the theft.
Moore also admitted stealing two bottles of Pepsi and a packet of crisps worth £3 from Home Bargains.
These thefts put him in breach of a suspended sentence order of 12 weeks in custody.
Rob Arthur, defending, said that the order should be activated except where it is unjust to do so.
He said: “He has been struggling since about 15 years of age with a constant battle against illegal substances. However, for the first time in a significant number of years he has impressed me greatly with the steps he has taken since the imposition of the suspended sentence order.”
Moore has found accommodation, attending maths and English courses, and provided several negative drugs tests.
Magistrates gave Dwyer a six month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £15 victim surcharge. Moore was given a nine month conditional discharge and also told to pay £15 victim surcharge.
Marking the breach by adding three months on to the suspended sentence order instead of sending Moore to prison, magistrate Malcolm Hall said: “The court is quite pleased with your reaction to the order. Really all we want is for you to keep up the good work and not see you in court again.
“The way you are reacting to this order I think it’s quite silly of you, if not stupid, to be involved in this offence so soon after the order.”