A TROUBLED teenager has been jailed after stealing DVDs and painkillers from supermarkets in Alnwick.
Colin Gibson, 18, of Cedar Grove, Alnwick, pleaded guilty to three offences of theft from Morrison's and the Co-op in July.
Alnwick magistrates heard how Gibson, who has 12 previous convictions from 19 offences and owes nearly £900 in fines, was s
een leaving Morrison's with a clutch of DVDs he hadn't paid for.
But his behaviour became even more bizarre when he returned just hours later.
In full view of staff, Gibson took a packet of painkillers from the shelf, swallowed them all and then threw the box at them before walking out.
He then went to the Co-op, where he asked where the pills were kept.
Gibson consumed an entire pack of paracetamol and left, throwing the package at an employee.
A short while later he returned, this time taking a packet of Ibuprofen and doing exactly the same.
By then, the police had been alerted and Gibson was arrested, before being taken to Wansbeck General Hospital for treatment.
Barry Row, defending, told the court that his client's behaviour had been "quite strange" and that he had no recollection of committing the offences.
Gibson, he said, had alcohol and psychiatric problems, but refused to co-operate with the Probation Service.
He was also in breach of two conditional discharges, imposed for two earlier offences of being drunk and disorderly and possessing cannabis.
Magistrates sentenced Gibson to 37 days in prison, but because of time already served on remand and for his early guilty plea he was released immediately.
The full article contains 271 words and appears in Northumberland Gazette newspaper.
