A MAN banned from every shop in Britain has vowed to turn over a new leaf and kick his heroin addiction.

Paul Orbell, of St Clement's Gardens, St John's, Worcester, appeared before Worcester magistrates on Monday charged with handling stolen goods, but he says it was just one blip on the road to recovery.

Mr Orbell, a former Worcester Cathedral chorister, and his fiance Louise Aherne are both subject of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders to help them off heroin.

Apart from kicking the habit himself, Mr Orbell, aged 26, said his main goal now was to warn off other youngsters.

"I made a stupid mistake on Saturday," said Mr Orbell, about his decision to pay friends to steal a leather jacket.

"When you are on heroin you can't think of anything else.

"You don't feel any guilt for anything you've done. You can't have a normal life. You can't even lie in in the morning because you have to get up and score."

Mr Orbell's addiction started the moment he was persuaded to smoke heroin five years ago.

"I did just three lines," he said. "It got me from day one."

Five years later, he has been jailed five times.

Mr Orbell said the experience of needing more heroin should be enough to turn anybody off.

"You get stomach cramps and trembling and then the headaches start," he said.

"If I didn't get heroin I'd be crawling up the walls. Then I'd be sick, and crawling in sick, and you can't keep still.

"It's an evil drug and the first few times, it's great but then you are addicted."

Miss Aherne, aged 21, said they were both determined to stay off drugs for good.

"If I hadn't found Paul, I'd be dead by now," she said.

"This has been a horrible rough ride and, whatever happens, I just hope the cloud has a silver lining. We've been through a lot and kept each other going."

Mr Orbell said he just wanted to live like everybody else.

"It's an illness to be addicted to heroin and we need help.