A supermarket shoplifter was caught after climbing into one of the store’s trolleys and falling asleep with his stolen wine.
Store staff found an unexpected item in the bagging area when they discovered Florian Nedelcu curled up in a drunken stupor in the Asda trolley.
Nedelcu, 31, has been allowed to escape any punishment after disappearing back to his native Romania.
The migrant worker had previously told Perth Sheriff Court the trolley incident was “the worst day of his life”.
Depute fiscal Matthew Kerr told the court that trollied Nedelcu was captured on CCTV stealing a bottle of wine from Asda in Perth.
Mr Kerr said: “The police were contacted. There’s no information about whether the wine bottle was open, but given the state he was in the trolley, you can probably assume it was.”
Romanian national Nedelcu, who told the court he had no fixed abode in Scotland, admitted stealing wine from Asda on November 7.
When he appeared from custody last November, solicitor Billy Somerville said: “It is now his intention to leave Perth when he is released and go straight to the airport to go back to Romania.”
Nedelcu said: “I didn’t want to do it. I was drunk. I want to go home today.
“Can I go home? This is the worst day of my life.”
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis deferred sentence for three months and ordered Nedelcu to remain of good behaviour.
When the case called this week, Mr Somerville said Nedelcu was not present and Sheriff Gillian Wade made no further order against him.
