POLICE chased a man who stole a bottle of drink and shower gel from an Evesham Service Station for quarter of mile before he collapsed, out of breath.

"I could do with that drink now, James Blundell, aged 20, of Aspen Close, told the policeman who caught and arrested him, Susan Cliff, prosecuting, told magistrates at Evesham last Thursday.

Blundell pleaded guilty to the theft on September 3 and failing to surrender to bail on September 6 and was fined £40 with £35 costs.

He admitted driving without insurance, test certificate or driving licence on September 9 and was banned for six months and banned for six months under the totting up procedure.

Mrs Cliff said the manager followed him from the service station in Cheltenham Road when he was seen to leave without paying for the items, but he ran away. Police later found him in a field when he ran off again.

The day he failed to turn up at court, she said, he was caught driving without the necessary authority.

Blundell told the court the offences occurred while he was a heroin addict.

"I am trying very hard to deal with the problem of heroin addiction and am taking part in a rehabilitation programme," he explained.