A callous thief broke into a Moray petrol station to steal a charity tin and three bottles of wine – just hours after shoplifting from the same garage.
Stewart Newlands smashed the glass door at the Nairn Road garage in Forres by throwing a concrete block through it.
Once inside, the 35-year-old stuffed a lifeboat donation box into his pocket before jumping over the shop counter to try to steal cigarettes.
After being thwarted by the locked cabinet, Newlands lifted three bottles of wine before fleeing through the smashed door, which was still stained with blood the next morning.
At Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday, fiscal Alex Swain said staff in the shop became suspicious when Newlands first entered the store shortly before 10pm on March 23.
She said: “He picked up four tins of beer and two bottles of cider. When he went to the checkout he asked for 20 cigarettes and a packet of tobacco, which were handed to the accused.
“When payment was requested the accused said ‘Cheers, you can call the police because I’m off.’ He thereafter turned and left the shop without paying.”
Newlands then broke into the store at 1am, sparking the alarm – which alerted staff, who called the police. The incident was captured on CCTV.
Miss Swain said the thief stole £31 worth of goods in the first incident, £137 from the break-in and caused £340 worth of damage to the shop.
Defence solicitor Stephen Carty said: “He is thoroughly ashamed and embarrassed by his behaviour. At this time his life had really hit rock-bottom. He was not working and he became an alcoholic.”
Newlands, of Fleurs Road in Forres, had his sentence deferred until May 4 to get medical information to determine whether he is fit to do unpaid work.
He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two charges of theft at the Esso filling station on Nairn Road in Forres on March 23 and March 24.
