A MAN with an appalling record for dishonesty was sent to prison for 12 months when he appeared before Blackburn magistrates.

Michael Thomas Fisher, 27, of Taylor Close, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to theft of a handbag and contents and two offences of handling stolen property.

Sentencing him, stipendiary magistrate Jonathon Finestein said he had thought hard and long about sending Fisher to Preston Crown Court for sentence where he could have got a substantially longer imprisonment.

Libby Reed, prosecuting, said the handbag had belonged to the mother of a friend of Fisher's. While she was in the kitchen getting him a drink of water he took the bag and contents.

The handling offences involved a grinder and welder taken from an unoccupied house and being found in possession of CDs just hours of them being stolen in another burglary.

Adrian Williams, defending, said his client was entirely realistic about his prospects and had already been in custody for five weeks.

He said Fisher's problem was an addiction to heroin and he now realised that any efforts to beat it had to start with him.

"He is a family man with two young children and he realises that he is not doing them any good by remaining addicted to this drug," said Mr Williams.