A 30-YEAR-old heroin addict was caught shoplifting twice within two weeks of being given a suspended prison sentence for two similar offences.

Blackburn magistrates heard John James Graham was also in breach of a community supervision order which the court heard he had completely ignored.

Graham, of Roebuck Close, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to three charges of shoplifting. He was sentenced to a total of 15 weeks in custody and all outstanding orders were revoked.

Jonathan Taylor, defending, said his client was aware that drugs would eventually kill him.

He said: “A reliance on street drugs goes hand-in-hand with a chaotic lifestyle which doesn’t fit well with attending appointments.

“He accepts he has made things extremely difficult for himself, getting into a lifetime of crime because of his addiction.

“Nobody wants to be in the state he is in but he needs some kind of help to get out of there.”