Huddersfield’s most prolific offender has been given the chance to beat his alcohol addiction.

Kirklees magistrates deferred passing sentence on Clinford Joseph so that he can get on a detox programme.

They told the 31-year-old that they believed that he would drink himself to death unless he gets help.

Joseph, of Lonsbrough Flats in Southgate, appeared at the Huddersfield court for the third time in two weeks.

He pleaded guilty to three breaches of his anti-social behaviour order – bringing his total number of offences up to 279.

Much of Joseph’s offending is linked to his chronic alcoholism.

He was made subject to the three-year Asbo in July.

Kirklees Council applied for the order, which includes a ban on Joseph drinking from an open container of alcohol in the town.

He breached the order on July 27 and 31 when he was found by police with a can of drink in his hand in the town centre.

Joseph then ignored the terms of the order again on August 2.

At 7.30pm CCTV operatives monitoring the town told police that Joseph appeared to be in some difficulty.

Vanessa Schofield, prosecuting, said: “The officers found him lying on the ground, clearly in drink and swearing.

“He had also urinated in the street.”

Neil Murphy, mitigating, described his client’s regular court appearances as “depressing”.

He said: “These breaches are inevitable given his condition – he’s a chronic alcoholic and has been for most of his adult life.

“His health is extremely poor and people comment that it’s amazing that he’s still walking around.

“He consumes as much alcohol as his system will allow him, then he falls over or is found comatose in the street.”

Mr Murphy said that there was now a prospect of Joseph getting a further placement thanks to his work with the Colne Valley Project.

He said: “He doesn’t have the funds to go to The Priory but there’s potentially a residential placement.

“The criminal justice system is not the appropriate way of dealing with people like Mr Joseph.

“He’s an ill man and until his alcoholism is addressed we’ll be back here again.”

Magistrates told Joseph that they felt his condition had deteriorated enormously.

They deferred his sentencing until November 7 to give him the chance to get the urgent help he needs.