'˜Mamba' user banned from shops in Worksop

Steven Philip Dickson, 37, of Portland Street, was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison for a string of offences, including theft, criminal damage and missing court dates.

But magistrates suspended the sentence for a year and imposed a two-year criminal behaviour order which prevents him from entering any shops in Worksop, or the Priory shopping centre and its car park.

He was also banned from carrying any open containers of alcohol or possessing any legal high drugs in the town, and associating with three individuals.

Magistrates warned him he could be imprisoned for up to five years if he breached the order.

Dickson was convicted of criminal damage on May 26 after he kicked the wing mirror off a car on May 6.

The court also heard he failed to surrender to bail on May 25 and missed court dates on June 14 and 21.

He admitted stealing three jars of coffee from Farmfoods in Worksop on January 28, when he appeared in court on June 23.

Donna Pursglove, mitigating, said Dickson had ‘a long history of alcohol and drug abuse’ and had been taking the legal high ‘Mamba’.

She said: “They are really, really nasty drugs that cause a lot of damage, both physical and mental.”

She said he missed his appointments because he and his partner were homeless at the time and were ‘leading very chaotic lives.’

“He says he hasn’t taken Mamba for two weeks,” said Ms Pursglove.

“He has struggled, but he feels that he has come through it.

“He knows that this sort of thing can take years and years.”

She said he and his partner of nine years had now found accommodation.

Dickson was ordered to engage with a drug rehabilitation requirement for nine-months and must pay £9.90 compensation for the coffee.