A man who sold £5,000 custom-made balustrades, stolen from a Stirlingshire farm, claimed he thought it was scrap metal.
Asan Lili, 32, got just £300 for the items, Stirling Sheriff Court heard.
Fiscal depute Lindsay Brooks said the metal had been left outside the property.
She said: “The item stolen was metal balustrades that had been custom-designed.
“They were taken from outside the front door of the property.
“The taking of the items was captured on CCTV and that’s how the accused was identified.
“The incident was very quick – the accused appeared to have prior knowledge of the items.”
‘Scrap’ claim
Solicitor Fraser McCready, defending, said Lili denied knowing about the haul and had chanced upon the address.
He said: “It was during the search for the purchase of a motor vehicle.
“He was travelling in a vehicle with his wife and the sat nav took them up this road.
“He tells me he saw the metal lying on the ground next to some bins.
“He made the assumption the metal had been put out and regarded it as scrap no one wanted and took it with the intention of selling it.
“I asked him if he made any representation to anyone who lived there and he tells me he did not. He sold the item for £300.”
Compensation
Lili, of no fixed abode, had previously admitted stealing the metal from a property near Blair Drummond on December 9 2023.
Sheriff Mark O’Hanlon told him: “I’m aware that your position in this case is you considered this was scrap because it was lying outside someone’s house near to a bin.
“You made no enquiries as to whether you could take this item and looking at the picture (of the CCTV) it appears this item is relatively new.
“I struggle to understand why you thought it was scrap.”
He ordered Lili to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to pay £5,000 compensation to the property owners.
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