Man's cocaine bill was £1,000 a night

Samuel Chambers had been using the drug since the age of 16 and his huge drug habit came to light after he stole hundreds of pounds from his workplace.

Chambers, 28, of St Davids Road North, St Annes, pleaded guilty to theft from an employer.

He was sentenced to nine months drug rehabilitation, put on a 12 months community order with up to 20 days rehabilitation to be supervised by the probation service, given a 14 weeks tagged curfew from 8pm to 8am and ordered to pay £335 compensation by Blackpool magistrates.

Prosecutor, Pam Smith, said Chambers had been employed as a kitchen porter at the Vinyl Groove Cafe, Queen Street, Lytham.

In November last year his boss accidentally put double Chambers wages in his bank account.

After being alerted to the error Chambers promised to pay the £335 excess back, but he never did.

When interviewed Chambers said he had spent the money on Christmas presents.

He had aimed to repay what he owed as he was expecting a benefits payment of almost £500, but the money from the DWP did not arrive.

Probation officer, Lesley Whittaker, told magistrates that when she interviewed Chambers he said he had used cocaine from being 16, but in the past months his drug use had got out of hand.

Ms Whittaker added: “He tells me he can use £700 to £1,000 of cocaine a night.

“He says he did not commit the offence to finance his drug use, but admits he may have paid for one bag of cocaine with the money.”

Defence lawyer, David Charnley, said Chambers had shown remorse early on, saying it was a stupid idiotic thing to do.

He had expected to repay the excess wages from benefits money but his benefits were stopped.