Drug addict stole to fund habit

A drug addict stole money from the till of a hotel bar to fund his long-standing habit, Perth Sheriff Court heard yesterday.

Staff working at the city’s Station Hotel became suspicious when they saw David McGregor, whose address was given as care of Perth Prison, leave the premises shortly after noon on September 13 last year.

The court was told the hotel’s Small Bar was normally closed to the public from 11am until 11pm.

After the alarm was raised, workers examined security camera footage to try to find out what he had been doing inside.

McGregor was seen reaching into the till at the bar and taking £30.

Solicitor Paul Ralph said his client’s “long-standing” drug addiction was at the root of his problems.

“My client was living beside a number of peers who made drugs available for him,” he added.

McGregor, 46, admitted stealing the money from the Small Bar at the Station Hotel, Perth.

He was sentenced to eight weeks in prison.

Meanwhile, Charles Taylor, 36, of Kinnaird, Inchture, is due to stand trial at the court on April 23.

He denies a charge that on October 31 2016, at the RBS branch on Dunkeld Road, Perth, he gesticulated at staff, grabbed hold of a computer screen and assaulted a female bank employee.