A WORKINGTON man repeatedly returned to the town’s Asda store to steal Jack Daniel's whiskey worth £128.

But after he admitted four counts of theft in a hearing before magistrates, 42-year-old Brett Dempster was left with a court bill of £327 – as well as five extra rehabilitation activity days.

Carlisle’s Rickergate court heard that he committed an identical shoplifting offence on four days when he went to the Moss Bay Road store on September 10, 12, and 14.

He carried out two thefts on September 12. On each occasion, the court heard, he stole Jack Daniel's worth £32, ripping the security tag off the bottle, putting it into his trousers, and then strolling out of the shop without paying.

None of the stolen bottles of whiskey was recovered. When he was arrested, he told the police that he took the bottles in order to sell them. He was last before the court on August 15 for another theft.

He also had previous convictions for possessing Class C drugs.

Sean Harkin, defending, said Dempster, of Station Road, Workington, was stealing in order to pay for drugs. When last released from custody by a judge, he did not have his regular prescription for methadone, a heroin substitute.

“When he’s on that script, he does not offend; when he’s not on it, he offends,” said Mr Harkin, adding: “He’s in his 40s and wants to change.”

Magistrates noted that the defendant was already on a community order which includes a drug rehabilitation requirement and 10 rehabilitation activity days.

They added five days to that requirement.

They said they wanted Dempster to continue to focus on engaging with the Probation Service and his drug rehabilitation work to continue.

They added that he must pay Asda £128 compensation, as well as £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge. The defendant thanked magistrates as he was led away from the dock. The defendant previously lived in Bexley, London.