Sounds like a rather effective way to get some temporary housing with food at no personal expense. I was thinking about this when it was reported last year – the crime he is committing isn't massively bad i.e. it's more embarassing than offensive – it's not like he has murdered anyone or committed unsavoury crimes. So, he might be rather tight for cash, can't pay the mortgage/rent and in a moment of desparation/enlightenment, he works out that doing this would get him sent to prison – where we hope life is tough and hard, but he has a bed and 3 meals a day – and according to the media, prison life isn't as bad as it used to be – he doesn't pay anything for this bed or food and he will get some form of regular exercise.
Only issue he may face is if he is made the local don's favourite toy – but with his crime it is unlikely as it is so obscure.
I reckon it's deliberate to get free 'housing and food' (although this makes light of the prison service but media does suggest it's easy for a lot of them (although I'd still prefer not to visit!).
