Heroin addict trying to kick habit

A 33-year-old man who has been addicted to heroin since the age of 14 is for the first time voluntarily trying to kick the habit.

Since leaving prison on the last occasion, petty thief Marcus Norman Robert Lowe has maintained contact with a drugs counsellor and entered into a methadone programme, a court heard.

Attempts to force him into treatment in the past have always failed.

Defence counsel for Lowe, Mr Roger Lowther said his client was making meaningful progress.

Lowe of Stephenson House, Mather Road, Newark, admitted stealing a set of hair straighteners and a set of trimmers from a display inside Argos, Newark, an offence which was captured on CCTV.

Mrs Marjorie Kirkham-Smith, for the Crown, said Lowe was arrested nearby with the goods in his possession and made full and frank admissions, telling police it was opportunist shoplifting.

Lowe will be sentenced on March 12 after the case was adjourned for a probation report.