AN ex-convict who helped himself to cider worth £2.99 while on prison licence nearly ended up back behind bars.

Gavin Thomas had 75 previous convictions for theft and related offences. He was told by Burnley Magistrates he was being given his "very last chance" with the most lenient sentence a court would ever pass.

The bench said their decision had been very difficult and they could have ordered the defendant back to jail. They added that at first they thought the offence was the straw which broke the camel's back but Thomas had now been trying to make something of his life.

Thomas, of Albert Street, Nelson, admitted theft and was given a six months conditional discharge.

Glen Smith, defending, said Thomas did not want to go back to prison. He committed the offence when his girlfriend went back to her former partner and it "blew his mind." He had intended to take the drink, sit on a park bench and get drunk.