A SHERIFF has admitted he was sending a Greenlaw man to jail for 12 months with a “heavy heart.” But Peter Paterson said Christopher Moran’s scale of offending after returning to heroin mis-use meant he had no option but to impose a prison sentence.

The 46-year-old of Wester Row appeared from custody at Selkirk Sheriff Court and pleaded guilty to several complaints for offences in January, March, May, July and September.

Moran admitted threatening or abusive behaviour towards his female neighbour on January 15 after suddenly stopping taking his anti-depressant tablets.

On March 16 he stole £60.56 from the Shell garage in Edinburgh Road, Jedburgh, on March 16. He also admitted a charge of threatening or abusive behaviour at the same premises on May 24, driving on the A68 with no insurance and obstructing an officer at Hawick Police Station.

In July Moran stole £200 worth of alcohol from the Co-op in High Street, Jedburgh, and last month he stole a car from Border Auto Salvage and drove it without insurance to Yorkshire.

The court heard he spotted the keys left in the car and crashed it through a gate causing £200 worth a damage before going on the long journey.

Defence lawyer Mat Patrick said the offence in January involving the neighbour happened after he stopped taking his medication.

He said the other matters could be explained for Moran being on a methadone prescription and missed his appointment.

Mr Patrick continued: “It was a struggle from that point and hbis life went back to the chaotic way of the past and he returned to heroin use. All his money was going onto buy drugs.” Mr Patrick called for a Drug and Testing Treatment Order assessment to be carried out pointing out Moran had been out of trouble between 2010 and 2014 when subject of a previous order.

Sheriff Paterson said he was prepared to admonish Moran for the neighbour incident saying he had been “misguided” in stopping taking his medication. He added: “It is not entirely without sympathy. However the catalogue of offending means I have to impose a custodial sentence. It is is with a heavy heart in my view.” Sheriff Paterson imposed a range of prison sentence for the various complaints which totalled 12 months and banned him from driving for six months.