Forres thief ransacked home of man who'd passed away

A Forres man who ransacked a house previously occupied by a local woman's late father has been jailed.

Guy Whitelaw, who's also known as MacCall, admitted stealing alcohol, clothing, jewellery, a clock, a wallet and a mobile phone in order to sell them for drugs.

The unoccupied property in Burdshaugh, Forres was being put up for sale due to the death.

However, on October 2, Whitelaw forced open a locked conservatory door to gain access.

Once inside the 39-year-old smashed windows, kicked holes in the plasterboard and also took a large amount of alcohol.

The break-in was discovered by an estate agent.

Whitelaw's DNA was subsequently found inside the property.

Sheriff Margaret Neilson described the crime as "despicable".

Speaking at Inverness Sheriff Court earlier today, she said: "Housebreaking is a particularly upsetting crime for the victims.

"The daughter was dealing with her late father's estate which is bad enough without having to deal with this as well."

The court heard that in a separate incident the day before he targeted the empty house, Whitelaw was captured on CCTV trying to break into a Forres hair salon.

Whitelaw, whose address was given in court papers as Inverness prison, also admitted a charge of resisting arrest, which related to him slamming a door in a police officer's face.

Defence solicitor Matthew O'Neill told the court: "Two family members had passed away a few weeks before these offences and he fell back into Class A substance misuse which has plagued him for most of his life."

Jailing Whitelaw for three years, Sheriff Neilson said: "You have an appalling record of previous convictions."