Addict admits stealing charity box from coffee shop

A KNIFE thug stole a charity box full of cash from a coffee shop.

Robert Campbell, 36, was addicted to heroin at the time, Livingston Sheriff Court was told yesterday.

Campbell, described as a prisoner at Edinburgh, pleaded guilty to stealing the charity box and its contents at Poppins Cafe in Broxburn, on February 27. He also admitted having a knife in a public place in Linlithgow the following day.

Not guilty pleas to stealing another charity box at the Coffee Neuk cafe in Linlithgow and possessing heroin at Livingston Police Station were accepted by the Crown.

Deferring sentence for three weeks, Sheriff Gerald Warner said: “The nature of his record and this current offending make it clear he’s got some problems in his life. It does suggest a drug treatment and testing order would be the best disposal.”

He remanded Campbell in custody for a social work background report.