A MAN who carried out "mean and spiteful" offences against relatives and friends to obtain money for drugs has been sent to prison.

Kevin Young raided a fruit machine at the home of his uncle and aunt, which was used to save spare change.

He also stole their camera and items of jewellery, with a total worth of about £2,560, Worcester Crown Court heard yesterday.

In a separate theft, Young stole £50 from friends who had invited him into their home, said Delroy Henry, prosecuting.

Young, aged 32, of Tallow Hill, Worcester, was jailed for nine months and ordered to serve an extra 488 days of an unexpired prison licence.

Spiteful

"These were mean and spiteful offences against people who took you in," Recorder David Aubrey QC told him.

Young had been brought up by his aunt and uncle, who lived in Church Road, Malvern.

He turned up at their home on Sunday, March 23, and was invited in. He was dropped off for a job interview and the couple left their house.

When they returned, the fruit machine had been tampered with.

Police discovered Young's fingerprints and a footprint.

Young was stopped as he walked out of Marks and Spencer, Worcester, carrying stolen goods.

Young, who admitted three thefts, had a five-year record for burglary, theft, deception and violence.

Tom Walkling defending, said Young was a heroin addict who stole from people he knew to fund his craving.