A thief who stole £1800 worth of tools from an unlocked locksmith's van has been jailed for nine months.
Liam Wilkie, 28, made two separate trips at ten minute intervals to steal from the van, which the domestic security specialist had left shut but insecure on a drive in Bo'ness, West Lothian, as he was working in the property there.
When the locksmith found the tools missing, nearby CCTV was checked and revealed Wilkie removing two green cases marked "Makita" from the vehicle before running off.
Prosecutor Sean Maher said: "As the driver was there in his professional capacity as a locksmith, and he would be required to return repeatedly to his vehicle, he had left the doors closed but not locked.
"Fortunately what happened was captured on CCTV at the address."
At Falkirk Sheriff Court yesterday, Thursday February 25, Wilkie, of Matthew Steele Court, Bo'ness, pleaded guilty to the theft, which occurred in Braehead, Bo'ness on January, 19, 2021.
He also admitted stealing soft drinks from the town's Farmfoods and facemasks from the local Boots the same day, and £125 worth of household items from ScotMid in Linlithgow Road, Bo'ness 12 days earlier.
In a separate incident, he admitted chasing a former girlfriend along Torwood Avenue, Grangemouth, in April 2019, brandishing a wooden stick, after a sum of money went missing from his home.
Solicitor Willie McIntyre, defending, said: "He shouted at her and chased after her with a piece of self-assembly furniture.
"He never got anywhere near her."
Sheriff Christopher Shead imposed the nine-month jail term.
