A serial thief who ransacked a Kirkcaldy house to feed his drug habit has been jailed for two years on his 31st birthday.
Craig Thomson had to blow out the candles on his birthday cake behind bars, after using a brick to smash his way into the home on Southerton Road.
The homeowners returned from work to find their patio door smashed and their cupboards and drawers lying open, with the contents strewn all over the house.
Police found a concrete brick wrapped in a towel inside the house and footprints on a rug in the living room.
Officers then traced the accused to Smeaton Gardens, Kirkcaldy, where he appeared to be passing items to other people. When searched, they discovered he had two mobile phones, chargers and an iPod in his possession.
At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Tuesday, solicitor Christine Hagan admitted her client had been sentenced to previous periods of imprisonment. She said: “When he was last released from custody, he was being prescribed suboxone (used to treat opiate addiction).
“At the end of February, start of March, he lost his prescription as he failed to attend the chemist. He lost his prescription and his help from addiction services. This led to a relapse and led to him committing this offence.”
Sheriff Grant McCulloch heard Thomson had caused £1,000 of damage to the patio doors. He said: “Looking at your record, your criminal career started at the age of around 16 or 17, including crimes such as theft from a lockfast place and housebreaking.
“You have had many opportunities to reform through the drug court and community payback order and not taken those chances.”
Thomson, a prisoner at Perth, admitted that on March 28 he broke into the house on Southerton Road, Kirkcaldy, and stole two mobile phones and chargers and an iPod.