A diminutive sneak thief was tracked by police after leaving a trail of muddy footprints to his front door.
Robin Alcorn used his small frame to squeeze through the barely-open window of his next-door neighbour’s home to steal her laptop computer.
Perth Sheriff Court heart the theft had been “opportunistic”, with the 16-year-old having decided to break in after entering Elaine Fleming’s garden to retrieve a ball.
He subsequently sold the computer for just £80, with his ill-gotten gains apparently helping to support his drug use.
Having admitted the theft in January, the teenager returned to court on Wednesday and was placed on a 12-month community payback order.
As a condition of that order, Alcorn will have to undergo treatment in a bid to address his problems with cannabis.
Alcorn, of Meadowview Drive in Inchture, admitted breaking into the house on August 9 last year and stealing a laptop computer.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis agreed to place Alcorn on the CPO in light of his age, lack of a criminal record and his successful completion of the Right Track programme.