A THIEF said to have stolen to help his girlfriend fund her drug habit must stay behind bars.

A crown court heard that John Booth, from Huncoat, took meat worth £90 from a shop on two consecutive days and told police the haul was to feed his family.

He appealed against a jail term of eight months but a judge, sitting with two magistrates at Burnley Crown Court, threw out his bid to have the sentence cut.

Judge Stuart Baker told Booth, 24, he had breached court orders and had not done any work on a community punishment order he had received.

He said Booth was a persistent offender and the shoplifting was clearly not to stave off starvation.

The judge went on: "The magistrates were entirely right to impose the sentence they did."

Booth, of Fern Court, Huncoat, had been convicted by Hyndburn magistrates of handling stolen goods and three counts of theft. He had 44 previous convictions, 34 of them for theft or related matters.

Claire Thomas, for the appellant, told the court Booth had begun using heroin at the age of 20 and started to offend. Most offences were committed to fund a drug habit and although he was not using heroin at the time, his partner was.

She was spending the family income on drugs and he resorted to shoplifting to provide food.

Miss Thomas added Booth's addiction was now under control and voluntary drug tests had proved negative.