‘It’s up to you’ judge tells addict

SHOPLIFTER Nathan Ashong had been trying to buy his own heroin substitute in a bid to rid himself of addiction, a court heard.

Ashong, 28, appeared at Exeter Magistrates’ Court to face four charges of shoplifting.

Ashong, of Bowden Hill, Crediton, admitted stealing goods worth £53.15 from Marks & Spencer in Tiverton, items to the value of £39.48 from Tiverton’s Somerfield, perfume and aftershave worth £113 from the town’s Boots and trainers worth £27.99 at Home Fayre, in December 2009 and January this year.

Magistrates adjourned the case from June 1 to give Ashong the chance to prove he could stay out of trouble and to give him the chance of finding work.

He appeared before District Judge Paul Farmer on Friday, where he said he had struggled to stay off drugs.

He told the court he had been referred to a drug treatment course at the Exeter Drug Project and was waiting for a prescription for Subutex, a drug similar to methadone used as a heroin substitute.

The court was told Ashong had an outstanding debt to the court for £85 in compensation to Marks & Spencer, Home Fayre and Boots.

Judge Farmer ordered Ashong to abide by the terms of a six-month supervision order.

“It’s up to you,” he told the defendant. “You need to deal with your addiction sooner rather than later.”