A STOURBRIDGE man who stole cheques from his father to fuel his drug habit has avoided a jail term.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court on Wednesday May 21, Craig Slater, aged 36, was given a one year supervision order after he admitted two charges of possessing crack cocaine and heroin, four of false representation and five of theft.

The court heard Slater, of Stepping Stones, took the cheques and used them to obtain a total of £1,885.

Judge Michael Dudley told Slater he had a "growing" criminal record going back a number of years for offences involving dishonesty and drugs.

The Judge said: "It seems to me you may have come to the realisation that unless you make an effort to change you are going to go back to prison for longer and longer sentences.

"I am prepared to take a chance to see if a drug rehabilitation order can work for you. If it does it may well be you can turn your back on your life of crime."

The Judge described Slater's theft offences against his father as "particularly mean and nasty" and added: "He realises you have come to the point where you need help".

The Judge directed Slater to attend a drug rehabilitation programme for 12 months and take regular tests to prove he was staying away from the drug scene.

Wendy Miller, prosecuting, said Slater was found to have the drugs after he was seen by police to run away from a car.

Samantha Powis, defending, told the hearing that, while being held in custody for 44 days on remand, Slater had been taking steps to resolve his drug problem.

Miss Powis said: "He realises the time has come for him to clean up his act, he knows he reached a really low point in his life by stealing these cheques from his father."

She told the court Slater had demonstrated a real desire to free himself from drugs and get back onto the straight and narrow.