Solvent abuser jailed after violating public toilets ban

Published on Thursday 11 August 2011 16:51

A SOLVENT abuser has been jailed for violating an Asbo which banned her from every public toilet in East Lothian - just ten days after the order was issued.

Kirsty Lennon was given a ten-month sentence at Haddington Sheriff Court after being caught in a toilet cubicle in Musselburgh inhaling cans of hairspray. Only days before, the 30-year-old had been hit with the antisocial behaviour order after being accused of causing "extreme distress" to toilet staff and members of the public.

Council chiefs sought the Asbo after complaints about Lennon's behaviour in Musselburgh, Prestonpans and Haddington dating back to 2008.

The Asbo, which banned Lennon from entering any of the 23 public toilets owned by East Lothian Council for a period of two years, was enacted on July 13.

Haddington Sheriff Court heard that at about 3.50pm on July 23, a member of the public informed the attendant at the Shorthope Street toilets in Musseburgh that a woman was abusing solvents in a cubicle.

Police attended and found Lennon with three cans of hairspray. An empty can was found in the cubicle along with Lennon's cardigan which was wet and "smelled heavily of hairspray", said Alison Innes, procurator fiscal depute.

Lennon had previously admitted breaching her Asbo by entering the toilets without reasonable excuse. Sentence had been deferred for reports.

Lisa Rae, Lennon's solicitor, told the court during last week's hearing that her client had been making "excellent progress" but had "gone downhill" in recent weeks.

Ms Rae said: "She advises that the most recent offence was caused by immense stress due to articles in the local and national press about her case."

Sheriff Peter Braid told Lennon: "I accept the person you're harming most is yourself and you need support. Nevertheless...you've breached the Asbos on more than one occasion."

Lennon, of Buckie Road in Mayfield, previously appeared at Haddington Sheriff Court in June on charges of breach of the peace after admitting placing others in a state of fear and alarm in the Shorthope Street toilets on February 8 by inhaling aerosol gases.

Lennon also pleaded guilty to inhaling hairspray at Sainsbury's in Meadowbank Retail Park on April 23, which caused her to lose consciousness.

Councillor Stuart Currie, the council's community safety leader, said: "A breach of an Asbo is always acted upon swiftly and the individual concerned obviously faces further action but it also gives agencies the chance to step in and provide any additional support."