A 29 year old Accrington man was given amphetamine by his father when he was just 14 years old.

Blackburn magistrates heard that following that introduction to drugs Craig Thomas had gone through the entire range of illegal substances and been addicted to every one of them.

But defence solicitor Roger Pickles told the court that to his credit Thomas had beaten them all - except alcohol.

"His grandfather died as a result of his alcoholism and his father is an alcoholic and he knows that he has to tackle his addiction," said Mr Pickles. "Unfortunately for him it is legal and it is available everywhere.

"He has missed most of his teens and his twenties because of substance abuse but he is hopeful that he can get his life back for his 30s," said Mr Pickles.

Thomas, 29, of Bellfield Road, Accrington, pleaded guilty to stealing a bottle of whisky from Asda.

He was remanded in custody for the preparation of pre-sentence reports after the magistrates heard there were other offences for sentence on which Thomas had failed to attend court and had also failed to keep appointments with the probation service.