A DRUG addict has pleaded guilty to a string of thefts after stealing more than £200 worth of aftershave, coffee and food.

Paul Stephen Hodgson, 45, admitted he had entered Sainsbury’s and Boots to take various items between October 2017 and February 2018.

Hodgson, of Corporation Road, Darlington, stole three packs of steak and two pork chops to the value of £13.40 on October 26 before returning to the Sainsbury’s supermarket in mid-January to take seven coffee jars worth £92.60.

The 45-year-old also entered Boots, on Northgate, to steal two Diesel Only the Brave aftershave bottles, worth £120.

A probation officer stated Hodgson has drastically cut down on his methadone script over the last year and is continuing to seek help for his heroin addiction that began when he was 17.

He was given a 12-month community order and ordered to re-pay £106 to Sainsbury's and £120 to Boots after pleading guilty to three counts of theft.