Twelve months for thefts that shocked Yell

A SHETLAND man has been jailed for 12 months after admitting he stole around £2,500 from a local business and took cash from a caravan park honesty box.

On Wednesday at Lerwick Sheriff Court, Jason Pottinger pled guilty to forcing his way into Victor Jamieson’s garage at Mid Yell on either 19 or 20 March last year, and stealing a money box and money bags.

The 28 year old, who lives at 21 Meadowbank Road, Burravoe, Yell, also pocketed a small quantity of money from an honesty box at the Burravoe Pier Caravan Park on 28 January this year.

The fiscal said this theft had shocked the local community, saying such behavior was “still relatively rare in Shetland, especially in Yell”.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said his client was “really sorry and embarrassed” about what he had done, saying he had a long string of drug problems and remained on methadone.

Sheriff Philip Mann sentenced Pottinger to nine months prison for the garage theft, adding an extra three months for taking the honesty box.

He also gave him six penalty points and a £500 fine for driving a car with a faulty windscreen and wipers without a licence and insurance at Ulsta in Yell on 18 March.