A BURGLAR who made off with a haul of drugs after throwing a brick through a Hereford pharmacy door has been jailed.

Police were called to Lloyds Pharmacy in King Street at 9am on February 22 after staff arriving at the business found the front door had been smashed with a brick.

Prosecuting barrister Alison Scott-Jones said a search of the premises revealed an intruder had made off with 67 boxes of prescription drugs, along with boxes of flea treatment, and a number of perfumes.

The total value of the haul was around £1,100.

CCTV footage showed 35-year-old Nathan John Harrison, who appeared before Worcester Crown Court for sentencing after admitting the offence at an earlier hearing, throwing the brick at the door and placing the items in a backpack.

Harrison, who has 71 previous convictions and was subject to a community order at the time, was arrested later that day, and a search revealed he was carrying prescription medication with no dispensary labels on them.

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A search of his phone revealed he has sent messages to another person just hours after the break-in saying "yo cuz, do you want any tablets," and "I've got loads of goods here for you, it's worth your while."

Alec Small, mitigating, said Harrison had spent a long time in custody awaiting his previous sentencing and had been working well with probation.

"It was a moment of madness," Mr Small said.

"He was still using illegal prescription drugs, but his supply ran dry and he said he needed to get the drugs.

"He had gained employment laying 5G cables since his release, and had been doing really well."

Judge Nicholas Cole said it was quite clear that Harrison had deliberately targeted the pharmacy to steal a large quantity of drugs and high-value items.

"You have an appalling record of offending, doubtless much due to your problem with drugs," Judge Cole said.

"This is further aggravated as you were subject to a community order at the time."

Harrison, of Whitecross Road, Hereford, was jailed for 30 weeks. His community order was revoked and he was not resentenced due to the length of time he had spent in custody while on remand in 2020.