A man who said he stole from a Cardross farm house after his benefits were stopped has been given a community pay back order.

Gordon Curtis pleaded guilty to stealing a watch and bracelet from the home at Carniedrouth Farm on November 12, 2013.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard Curtis, 37, say he was in the area around 12pm looking for farmwork and when he found no one was in, gained access to the house and took the items.

After leaving the house he waved down a passing car and asked a local doctor if he had heard of anyone in the area hiring farm hands.

The items were not initially noticed to be missing from the house, and weren’t reported until later that night.

Police contacted local pawn shops and found that the two items had been pawned around 1pm that day. Curtis was spotted on CCTV pawning the items for a value of £330.

Curtis, originally from Kent, England, has a connection to the area and was visiting his niece who lives in Brucehill, Dumbarton. His solicitor told the court that he had lived and worked rurally all his life and has 16 years’ farming experience.

He said the background of the crime ‘was one of desperation’ after he had problems with his benefits, and had to get quick money to survive and support his family. The solicitor noted Curtis is not someone who has ‘extended offending’ and asked the sheriff to accept that it was an ‘impulsive offence’.

Sheriff Craig Turnbull told Curtis that he was satisfied he could deal with the incident by way of a Community Payback Order, of 120 hours of unpaid work, to be done within six months and placed him under supervision for a year.