A FORMER soldier traumatised by his service in Kosovo turned to heroin to alleviate nightmares and panic attacks, magistrates heard.

Stuart Collins experienced "horrific" scenes and had no help from the Army in coming to terms with the aftermath, his solicitor claimed.

Collins appeared in court yesterday accused of stealing four DVDs valued at £150 from Worcester's HMV store in High Street, which he told police he intended to sell to raise money.

Steve Walmsley, prosecuting, told Droitwich magistrates how Collins' had tried to remove security tags from the DVDs, but ran off with them after failing to do so.

He added police, who had already been alerted to Collins' actions, caught and arrested the former Lance Corporal shortly afterwards.

"He was unsuccessful in removing the tags so ran out the store with the DVDs," he said.

"Police then chased, caught and arrested him and recovered the stolen items. During an interview, the defendant told officers he intended to steal the items to sell to raise money."

Collins, of St Paul's Hostel, Tallow Hill, Worcester, admitted theft.

But Dale Sheehan, defending, said his client had only turned to drugs after being badly traumatised by his experiences in Kosovo, which had resulted in nightmares and panic attacks.

He added Collins, who served for four years since 1996, had experienced horrific scenes while in Kosovo which he had found "extremely difficult to cope with."

"My client tells me he had no help from the Army in dealing with the trauma of his experiences," he said.

"He was one of the first soldiers in Kosovo and it left him severely traumatised.

"A friend suggested heroin would stop the symptoms. The drugs became a remedy for his suffering, but he then became addicted."

But he added Collins had stopped using drugs since the incident and now wanted to get his life back on track.

"He has managed to get himself off the drug and is now very motivated to get on with his life again," he said.

Magistrates sentenced Collins to 12 months probation and ordered him to attend a drug rehabilitation programme.