A HOMELESS drug addict has been sentenced to eleven months in jail and given a behaviour order after admitting a string of offences.

Sonny Totham, 49, admitted five counts of burglary on businesses in Witham during August and September when he appeared at Colchester Magistrates' Court yesterday.

He also admitted one count of criminal damage, on October 17, when he smashed the window of Fathers hairdressers in Witham - after which he rang police to hand himself in.

Totham was sentenced to four months in jail for the five burglaries, and one month for the criminal damage, to run concurrently.

For breaching an existing Community Behaviour Order, Totham received a six month sentence as well as an extra month for breaching the order's terms.

Those sentences will run consecutively.

A district judge also made Totham the subject of a five-year criminal behaviour order, which states he must not:

  • harass, assault or intimidate any person including members of the emergency services
  • remain in any shop, commercial or hospital premises if asked to leave by staff or police or security officer
  • sleep rough or loiter in doorways of shops or other commercial properties; and
  • dispose of hypodermic and other medical needles in the appropriate sharps boxes.