A 36-year-old Inverness man enjoyed a New Year breakfast in a city guest house while the proprietor slept upstairs.
But Stephen Scott wasn’t a resident at the B and B – he had broken in to the premises at 49 Fairfield Road to commit theft.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that after he had had his fill in the property, he then broke in to the business next door and had more food before returning to number 49.
Yesterday, Scott, who had previously admitted two charges of theft by housebreaking on January 1 and 2, was jailed for a total of 27 months.
Sheriff Margaret Neilson imposed a 16-month sentence for the break-ins and another 11 months for two other offences.
He had pleaded guilty to possessing a knuckleduster on April 15 in Mackay Road and having a mobile phone in prison on January 3.
At an earlier hearing, the court was told that Scott was captured on CCTV in the first home he broke into.
After smashing a window at the rear, he was filmed for almost an hour making himself a bowl of cereal and eating other items.
He was also recorded stealing an iPhone and pieces of documentation before leaving to raid the neighbour’s unoccupied property. Scott then returned to eat more food.
In number 47 Fairfield Road, Scott removed six bottles of wine, a diary, a Fossil watch, more food and coins from a whisky bottle he smashed.
Defence solicitor Neil Wilson said: “He steals to fund his drugs habit.”
Sheriff Neilson commented: “It is deeply upsetting for the people whose properties were broken into.”
