A man who stole two containers of cooked food from MarketPlace in Hamilton was fined $500 when he appeared in Magistrates' Court.

Gerald Hall, 44, admitted to taking the food and leaving the Church Street store without paying on June 3. He denied a further charge of stealing two packets of codfish from Arnold's Market, on Sunday.

He went to the MarketPlace underground parking area and was seen placing the containers in a bag and putting them in the basket of a black motorcycle.

Police later caught up with Hall and found the two containers in the back of the bike. Officers also found a Magistrates' Court bail form and arrested Hall on suspicion of theft.

Hall said: "I just wish to apologise to the court for my actions. I was under a lot of pressure at the time. I was drunk at the time, which is no excuse.

"I just want to put this behind me because my life is going good right now and I just want to continue in that way."

Hall will face trial before Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner for the alleged theft last Sunday. The trial will take place on October 29 at 9.30 a.m. He was released on $2,000 bail with one surety until then.