A NETHERTON man landed his 100th conviction after stealing booze from a supermarket.
Phillip Baxter, of Juniper Grove Mews, admitted theft when he appeared before Kirklees magistrates.
Magistrates gave him a curfew, which will run between the hours of 9pm and 7am.
The theft was the latest in a long line of offences committed by the 38-year-old, who has struggled for years with a drug and alcohol addiction.
His most recent theft took place at Tesco in Cleckheaton on April 6.
Linda Fowler, prosecuting, said that Baxter was seen entering the store at 7.39am.
He selected two bottles of sherry from the shelf, put them in his jacket and left the store without paying.
Baxter returned to the store the same day at 6pm but was recognised by staff who detained him until police arrived.
He told officers that he had stolen the alcohol because of his drink problem.
Magistrates were also asked to take into account a separate theft of a bottle of vodka from Lidl in Wakefield Road, Aspley.
The Huddersfield bench was told that Baxter had 99 previous convictions to his name.
These included numerous other thefts and breaching an anti-social behaviour order banning him from entering the town centre.
Baxter was one of a group of 10 problem drinkers barred from the town by the court late last year.
The orders came after complaints from businesses, residents and members of the public – with St Peter’s Gardens highlighted as a particular trouble spot.
Carl Kingsley, defending, said that his client previously had a 16-year heroin habit.
He said: “That’s relevant to most convictions until three years ago when he managed to deal with it.
“But when people manage to deal with one addiction, sadly it’s often replaced by something else.
“In this case it was replaced by alcohol addiction.”
Mr Kingsley said that his client, who is in poor health, may attend a residential detox programme in an attempt to beat his addiction.
