Mansfield shoplifter hopes to beat drug addiction after nearly dying from overdose

CCTV showed Gavin Causer and another man hanging around outside Connections, just before it opened for business, on October 18, said prosecutor Becky Allsop.

They pushed through an unlocked door and made off with eight coats and 20 T-shirts. Causer later told police he believed the shop was open but admitted hearing the alarm going off.

He also stole three tubs of of protein powder, worth £102, from Boots, on September 24.

The court heard he has 49 previous convictions for 137 offences, 63 of which are for theft.

His co-defendant received a 12 month community order with a drug rehabilitation requirement, and was ordered to pay £500 compensation.

Ian Pridham, mitigating, said Causer has been locked up three times since November 2023 as a result of his chronic addiction to crack cocaine.

"There has been a lot of prison but very little else,” he said. “He has managed to get himself accomodation with a friend.

“He nearly died two months ago from an overdose which has frightened him quite considerably and he hasn't taken any since.

"He still has a £5 per day heroin habit which he wants to address.”

Causer, 40, of Bernard Avenue, Mansfield Woodhouse, admitted theft and burglary when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Thursday.

He received a six month community order, with nine rehabilitation days, and was ordered to pay £612 compensation.