The clock is ticking for a Tayside man to save up to compensate a jeweller over a watch fraud.
Daniel Edward Farrell stole a high-end watch worth £8,000 from his brother-in-law and then sold it to an English company for £1,500.
The 33-year-old admitted stealing the Omega Speedmaster from an address in Upper Dysart, near Montrose, between May 5 and 8 when he appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court.
Farrell, of Brownlow Place, Ferryden, then claimed to be the owner and sold the watch to SH Cutting the Jewellers based on Queen Street in Ramsgate, Kent.
Defence agent Nick Markowski told the court: “It wasn’t very well thought out. He gave his own name and bank account details.
“He is apologetic for his actions. He lost his father at the end of last year and he had bereavement issues.
“He was drinking heavily at the time. The watch was taken and he contacted the company when he was under the influence of alcohol.
“The watch was recovered by the brother-in-law but the company is out of pocket by £1,500.
“Since then things have improved dramatically for him. He is currently working around 50 hours a week as a chef in Montrose.”
Sheriff Gregor Murray deferred sentence to give Farrell time to save up the money to repay the jewellers.
He told Farrell: “There is only one sentence at the forefront of my mind and that is to send you straight to jail for such a very substantial breach of trust.
“However, you have taken steps to improve your life so I will defer sentence for three months to allow you to save up as much of the £1,500 as you can.
“If you do this then I will look at putting you on a community payback order.
“If you don’t do that then you know what is going to happen.”
Yesterday staff at SH Cutting the Jewellers said they were “shocked” to find out about the crime but “satisfied that justice is being done” in Scotland.
The business conducts “meticulous” identification checks with prospective sellers and had cooperated fully with the police.