A metal thief targeted business skips and an Aberdeen city centre restaurant in a spree of late-night raids in a bid to fund a funeral.
Kevin Smith toured Aberdeen in his flatbed truck looking for metal he could steal and sell on as scrap.
The 55-year-old largely targeted business skips, but also helped himself to a table outside a restaurant.
Despite Smith claiming not to have realised he needed permission to take items from skips, a sheriff branded the crimes “blatant theft” and stopped just shy of sending him to jail.
Fiscal depute Tom Procter told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the first incident happened around 11.35pm on August 24 last year when Smith targeted Mi Amore on Huntly Street.
When the owner arrived the following morning he noticed one of the outdoor tables had vanished.
CCTV revealed Smith driving up shortly before midnight, loading the table onto a flatbed truck and driving off.
The table, worth £250, was not recovered.
‘He will not make this mistake in future’
Smith also targeted a metal skip at Car Clinic on Broadfold Road, Aberdeen, on no fewer than eight separate occasions.
On each night of October 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 21, 24 and 26, CCTV caught Smith removing items from the skip, putting them on his truck and making off.
The estimated value of the metal stolen in those incidents was £280.
Arnold Clark on Whitemyres Place was next on the list for Smith, who raided their metal skip at 1.40am on October 20.
No value was available for the items stolen in that incident.
On October 27, Smith targeted two neighbouring businesses on Links Street – Auto Repairs and McGregor Glazing.
Following a similar routine, Smith again helped himself to items from a skip, loaded them onto his flatbed truck and drove away.
The matter was eventually reported to police who traced Smith at home with the metal from the final incident still in his truck.
Smith, of Mansefield Road, Aberdeen, pled guilty to four charges of theft.
Defence agent Lisa Reilly said: “He essentially makes extra money by collecting scrap metal.
“He absolutely accepts he took items from businesses without making any further investigation to see whether or not he was able to do so.
‘This was blatant theft’
“He acknowledges he should not have done this and in future should avoid businesses.”
Ms Reilly explained there had been a sudden family bereavement and he was “trying to get extra money for funeral costs”.
She added: “He apologises to the court.
“He thought the items were there to be disposed of and didn’t realise he needed permission to pick them up.
“He will not make this mistake in future.”
Sheriff Eric Brown told Smith: “In my view, this was blatant theft. In one charge alone you went on some eight occasions in the middle of the night to collect items belonging to somebody else in a skip.
“It’s theft of other people’s property.
“With some hesitation, I’m prepared to deal with this by way of a non-custodial sentence.”
As a direct alternative to prison, the sheriff handed Smith 200 hours of unpaid work.
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