A JOBLESS baker with a £50- a-day heroin addiction and debts of £14,000 was given a chance to prove he could kick his habit when he appeared in court yesterday.
Stephen Trotter pleaded guilty at Harrogate Magistrates' Court to stealing a pair of jeans from a local store, which his solicitor, Geoffrey Rogers, said he had intended to turn into cash.
He said Trotter, 30, owed a total of £14,000 and had unpaid fines of about £1,000.
Since the theft on January 10, Trotter, of Spring Grove, Harrogate, had been to Harrogate District Hospital and had not taken any heroin for a week.
Presiding magistrate Brian Pattyson put Trotter on probation for six months on condition he addressed his drug problems and consulted the Citizens' Advice Bureau about his debts.
He said there would be no order for costs because of his financial plight and his fines bill of £1,012 would be reduced to £300
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