A thief who stole a laptop from a car and a rugby holdall from a bus was jailed for 11 months at Jedburgh Sheriff Court last Friday.
Peter Craig, 38, of Anderson Place, Hawick, committed the thefts while involved in drug-taking. He was said to have since “turned over a new leaf”.
Craig admitted stealing a laptop from a ScottishPower vehicle parked at Sime Place, Galashiels, on January 14, and stealing a holdall and its contents at Wilton Hill, Hawick, on February 16.
Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser said the laptop, worth £400, had been recovered. He said the accused, who has since served a jail term imposed at Haddington Sheriff Court for shoplifting, had been on bail at the time of the offence.
Defence solicitor Rory Bannerman said his client was “heavily involved in taking drugs at the time”.
Mr Fraser told the hearing that there had been no recovery of the stolen holdall and its contents, worth £157, adding: “It was a rugby kit holdall which the owner had placed on a luggage rack.”
Mr Bannerman said: “Since he has come out of jail, he has turned over a new leaf and has continued his abstinence from any form of drugs. He looks back on that period of his life with shame, and has expressed remorse and regret for his offending.”