A DRUG-addicted thief escaped a jail sentence but was warned by magistrates if he breached his sentence, custody awaited.

Christopher John Woodrup, 33, was given a 12-month community rehabilitation order by the Burnley bench and ordered to pay £20 costs.

The justices said he had failed to respond to previous sentences and that concerned them.

They pointed out that Woodrup reoffended when already subject to a conditional discharge and the offence was premeditated.

The chairman added: "If you breach this order, the only place you will be going is prison. This is your last chance."

Woodrup, of Dall Street, Burnley, admitted stealing from shop premises on April 26.

The court was told the defendant, who took meat and hid it in his anorak, was well known to the courts, was a persistent offender and had a record going back quite a long way.

Bill Rawstron, defending, said Woodrup's drug problem was the key to his steady decline in his physical appearance over the last 12 years.

The offence itself was not serious but it was the repetitiveness of it that caused concern.

Mr Rawstron urged the court to make a community rehabilitation order and added Woodrup was now the main carer for his family.