Cocaine debt led to theft of lorry

A thief from a South Staffordshire village stole a lorry from an industrial estate to pay back a drugs debt, a court heard.

David Biddulph, of Mitre Road, Cheslyn Hay, took the tractor unit and trailer from Swadlincote in Derbyshire on March 4.

Two days later he was picked up by police after the tractor unit was identified by automatic number plate recognition technology as it was driven along the A34 in Cannock.

Biddulph ran off, leaving the engine running, at the junction with Broad Lane when he realised he was being followed by officers.

He jumped over fences but was arrested after a resident saw him hiding in her garden and called the police.

Cannock magistrates heard, in his defence, that he was under pressure to take the lorry to settle a cocaine debt.

He said he felt intimidated and ran off on the instruction of a passenger who travelled alongside him in the cab.

The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to taking a motor vehicle without the owner's consent.

He was given a 12-month supervision order with a drug rehabilitation requirement and ordered to pay £360 in fines and costs.