A Perthshire man plundered wine from a neighbour’s home in an early morning raid.
The six bottles of red and six bottles of white were pilfered by Duncan McPhee at around 1am on November 18.
They have never been recovered.
McPhee, 34, entered the unlocked house at Smillie Place and inadvertently woke up his neighbours, Steven Welsh and Amanda Duncan.
At Perth Sheriff Court on Wednesday it was revealed McPhee had found the door unlocked and entered the premises across the street from his own home.
On the kitchen table, McPhee found the 12 bottles of wine, valued at £65 in total.
Earlier offences
Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson told Perth Sheriff Court: “The accused is known to Miss Duncan and Mr Welsh. At 10pm they went to bed and the front door was unlocked.
“On the kitchen table were six bottles of red and six bottles of white wine. Shortly after 1am Mr Welsh woke to the sound of a male voice within the property and recognised it as the accused.”
The incident happened three months after McPhee, who has been jailed before, had behaved in a threatening way while intoxicated in Smillie Place, prompting seven neighbours to dial 999.
His outdoor outburst on July 30 was filmed by a neighbour from their bathroom window, in the hope the footage could help her relocate away from the area.
As well as the wine theft, he pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing and making derogatory remarks to occupants at Smillie Place, as well as repeatedly ringing doorbell and banging on a front door, placing Mr Welsh and Ms Duncan in a state of alarm.
McPhee was ordered to carry out 220 hours of unpaid work and pay his victims £200 to cover the cost of the missing wine and stress caused by his intrusion.
He was also placed under supervision for a year.
Sheriff Neil Bowie described McPhee’s actions as “disgraceful” and handed out the sentence “as a direct alternative” to imprisonment, saying if the work is not completed, it is “highly likely” he will be returned to prison.
