A man who made a drunken attempt to break into a Tayport shop armed with a hammer and knives was jailed for eight months at Cupar Sheriff Court.
Robbie Lowther, 22, of Cross Street, Cupar, admitted smashing glass at Premier Store, Centre Street, Tayport, with a hammer on February 26 2013, with the intention of stealing.
He also admitted, on the same date, having a knife in his possession.
Lowther pleaded guilty to a further charge of stealing a bottle of alcohol from the Co-op store on Nelson Street, Tayport, on February 23 2013 while being in possession of a knife.
The court heard both offences occurred as a result of Lowther’s alcohol dependency, defence solicitor David Bell saying: “This conduct portrays a very troubled young man with a very significant addiction to alcohol.”
With regard to the offence which occurred on February 23, the procurator fiscal told the court Lowther stole a bottle of whisky while apologising to staff, saying he was sorry and that he “had to do it”.
She said: “He told them to phone the police and also provided them with his address. He told staff he was sorry for scaring them then left without paying for the whisky.”
Lowther was charged and bailed but was apprehended again by police just three days later after a witness saw him striking the Premier Store window with a hammer.
When approached by officers he slid a six-inch knife towards them and told them he had hid the hammer behind a bin.
When Lowther was searched, another three-inch blade was found within the waistband of his trousers.
Sentencing Lowther, Sheriff Charles Macnair told him: “Carrying knives is a very serious matter. This is an offence of a serious nature and there can be no alternative to a custodial sentence.”