Heroinaddict stoleperfumes

A Perthshire man turned to shoplifting to fund his £20 a day heroin habit.

But 32-year-old Thomas Cummings, of Church Road, Methven, was arrested after stealing perfume worth £34 from the High Street branch of Boots in Perth.

Sheriff Gillian Wade told him:“You have got an appalling record and my initial instinct would have been to impose a custodial sentence.”

But she decided a Community Payback Order would better help address his “underlying problems in a more fruitful way’’.

He will have to complete 100 hours of unpaid work within the next three months - and also undertake treatment for his drug addiction.

His progress will be reviewed on May 2. And she warned him if he hadn’t made considerable inroads into the order, she could still jail him.

He admitted stealing the fragrances from the store on January 2 this year, while subject to an earlier bail order from the Perth court.

He also flouted a January 4 bail order by entering Perth city centre’s main shopping area four days later.

A solicitor for the accused explained he had been staying in Perth’s St Catherine’s Square at the time.

“He was using £20 worth of heroin on a daily basis - and that’s clearly a significant issue.”

He was welcome back at his partner’s home in Methven and urged the sheriff to consider a community-based disposal as jail terms were“clearly not working.”

Sentence on the bail breach charge was deferred until his first Community Payback Order review.