Bank account raider offered victim a kebab

A man raided a woman’s bank account and headed to a Perth pub before texting her asking if she wanted a kebab brought home.

Perth Sheriff Court heard that Michael McNeil (29) texted Carolyn Stewart to ask if she wanted the takeaway favourite after he had used her bank card to withdraw £350 as well as pay for either food or drink in a Perth pub.

McNeil even offered to help find the bank card he had stolen when Ms Stewart noticed it was missing and then begged her family for forgiveness.

Depute fiscal Bill Kermode said Ms Stewart had assumed McNeil had been out drinking in the city centre and was getting a takeaway.

It was only when she went to Asda in her car the next day for shopping that she realised her bank card was missing, Mr Kermode said.

“She searched the car and couldn’t find it,” Mr Kermode continued. “When she returned home she told the accused she couldn’t find the card and he offered to help her find it.”

He said Ms Stewart then made a balance inquiry a couple of days later and discovered there was much less money in her account than there had been before.

This prompted her family to investigate then confront McNeil once they had figured out what had happened, Mr Kermode continued.

“The accused admitted using the bank card and stated he would make an effort to pay back the money,” said Mr Kermode, who went on to read out a number of texts McNeil sent to one of Ms Stewart’s relatives the following day.

One read: “I am sorry for everything, I will sort this out. I know I will never be forgiven, just let me pay it back.”

Another text, which was seemingly sent after the relative demanded McNeil repay all the money he took, read: “I can’t get that sort of money in that time. I will get as much as I can and the same again until is paid off.”

McNeil, who according to court papers now lives in Alexander Square in Fort William, pled guilty on Wednesday to using Ms Stewart’s bank card to withdraw £300 from a cash machine in Perth’s High Street on January 15, 2016, and to buy £10.98 worth of either food or drink at The Foundry on

I know I will never be forgiven, just let me pay it back

Perth’s Murray Street the same day.

He also admitted using the card to take out another £50 the next day – the same day he sent Ms Stewart the text asking if she wanted him to bring her home a kebab.

He further admitted using it twice the following day to withdraw £50 from a machine at the Co-op at Wellmeadow Garage in Blairgowrie and another £50 from Sainsbury’s in Perth as well.

Sheriff Foulis sentenced McNeil to complete 240 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to repay Ms Stewart all the money he had taken from her account.