Ex addict from Kirkby went on stealing spree after stag do '˜spiking'

Lee Ronald Walters, 35, of Pine Close, admitted stealing two bottles of Jack Daniels, an outdoor oven worth £1,200 and two pot noodles at Mansfield court on Wednesday.

He also pleaded guilty to driving his white Ford Fiesta without insurance or a licence on June 9, June 10 and June 15.

Robert Carr, prosecuting, told magistrates that Waters had been spotted on CCTV stealing the whisky and a bottle of coke, worth a total of £40, from the Co-Op in Annesley on June 6, and the outdoor oven from Gamston Farm Shop, in Lowdham, on June 9.

The spree came to an end when Waters was arrested in the car park of Morrisons, in Kirkby, on June 15, where he was found to have stolen the pot noodles.

The court heard Walters had 78 thefts on his record and had been in custody on several occasions.

Bill Soughton, mitigating, said: “That was largely to do with drug use. He was a heroin addict for a number of years.”

He said Walters’ offending had stopped in 2015 when he met his fiancee, and he had since given up drugs and found work.

“During 2015 he worked almost solidly,” said Mr Soughton. “He was registered with ten different agencies.”

However, the work dried up at the beginning of the year and he was left ‘simply without money’ because he wasn’t eligible for benefits.

“His fiancee has been a great stabilising factor in his life,” said Mr Soughton.

“They were due to get married in July. He went out on a stag do. He was given an illicit substance which tipped him into temporary drug use.

“He accepts he lost the plot and went on a bit of a bender.

“He has stopped drinking and taking drugs and is back at work.”

He was sentenced to 16 weeks for the thefts, suspended for 18 months, which was added to the five weeks suspended he received from another shoplifting conviction on July 28.

No costs were awarded because Waters owes £789 to the court, but he was told to pay £1,200 compensation to the farm shop.

He was banned from driving for 18 months.