DNA on hat leads to conviction of thief

DNA found on a hat, hidden along with £400 worth of stolen fuel near Loch Leven, helped police track down the thief, Perth Sheriff Court was told.

The head gear, along with a jacket, was also an“exact match”to what 33-year-old Andrew Stobbs had been wearing when he was captured on CCTV near the crime scene.

He was jailed for nine months at Perth Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to breaking into a building at Pier Road, Kinross, owned by William Wilson on May 20, 2018, and stealing fuel tanks and fuel lines.

Workmen discovered that the padlock on the building near Loch Leven was missing and 18 gallons of unleaded petrol, worth £400 - had been stolen.

But a search of the area around the Loch Leven Fisheries discovered six fuel tanks hidden among the undergrowth, along with the items of clothing.

Depute fiscal Matthew Kerr said:“They were submitted for forensic examination and the accused’s DNA was found within the woollen hat.”CCTV was also viewed and it led to police arresting the accused, of Swansacre, Kinross.

Lawyer Pauline Cullerton said Stobbs had been out walking his dog when he had received“certain information”from an unnamed individual about the petrol.

She added:“He hid the cans in the bushes with a view to getting them the next day but the police beat him to it.”

Substance misuse had“contributed to his offending”although he was now on a methadone programme.