A RECOVERING heroin addict chose to comfort his mother rather then keep a date with justice when his father was rushed to hospital, a court was told.

Harrogate magistrates heard how Sean Anthony Millington failed to turn up to answer theft and cannabis possession charges on the previous Thursday, with the result that he faced a second count of failing to answer bail.

Millington, 37, of Eden’s Way, Ripon, admitted the two bail offences when he pleaded guilty to stealing a bottle of vodka from Booth’s supermarket in the city on August 19 and to being in possession of cannabis when police searched him after his arrest.

Prosecutor Liam O’Brien said a Booth’s worker filling shelves with alcohol noticed a bottle was missing after Millington – who had 74 previous offences on his record – had inquired about where he could find cartons of juice. He had paid 91p for a carton, but not the £13.39 for the vodka.

In mitigation, Clive Farndon said Millington’s reason for missing the court appearance was due to his father being ill. He had been rushed to hospital just a few hours before the court hearing and Millington had chosen to stay at home to support his mother.

Mr Farndon said Millington had been fighting drug addiction for some time and had been prescribed methadone – the heroin substitute – after voluntarily attending the Crime Reduction Initiative.

But on the day of the theft, he had not collected his prescription.

Millington was sentenced to a one-year community order with probation supervision and treatment for drug dependency for the theft and cannabis offences. The court also imposed £85 costs and £13.39 compensation.

Magistrates told Millington a day in custody for each of the two bail offences had been served by him being detained in police cells pending his court appearance.