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An electrician had been told to repay £4,000 to his neighbours after stealing their power by diverting the supply to his own home.
Leslie Pirie, from Tayport in Fife, set up the elaborate system using a device hidden behind a picture frame.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard that Hugh and Tracy Torrance’s bills were so high they had to get their teenage daughter to work to help fund the payments.
Pirie, 51, admitted stealing electricity between July 2017 and August 2020. He was given more than eight years to repay at £40 per month.
Investigators called in to look at the unusually high charges immediately discovered the family were paying for their own supply and for downstairs neighbour Pirie.
They found Pirie had cut a hole in the plasterboard to hide a blocker device and had covered it up by hanging a framed picture.
Solicitor John Boyle, defending, said the neighbours were “essentially out of pocket to the tune of £4,000”.
He added: “They still remain neighbours, but obviously they are not on particularly good terms.”
Mr Boyle said Fife Council were trying to evict Pirie as he is the only resident in a three-bedroom house, after the death of his mother in 2010.
He said: “The council have been trying to have him removed and I suspect this will be the final nail in the coffin.
“He has expressed his willingness to compensate them, but that would be in modest instalments. He is not working.”
Speaking outside court after the sentencing, Mrs Torrance said: “We thought he was alright, quiet, just a nice guy. I just feel really disappointed.”
Pirie was admonished by Sheriff Morag Fraser and ordered to repay the couple.
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