Woman tried to break into gran’s home when she was at bingo

A Fife woman attempted to break into her grandmother’s home when she was at the bingo. 

Michelle Finlay also obtained prescription drugs from a health centre by fraud for almost nine months by using a relative’s name and stole £540 by using her mum’s bank card. 

A court heard a neighbour took photos of Finlay using a wrench to try to remove the lock of her gran’s back door. 

Finlay (24), of McGinlay Terrace, Lochore, previously admitted a string of offences at Dunfermline Sheriff Court. 

Between 16^th March and 11^th September at Linburn Health Centre, Nith Street, she pretended she was another person so that she was issued prescriptions for a controlled substance, Tramadol and thus obtained quantities of the drug by fraud. 

Between 2^nd and 8^th September at Asda superstore, Halbeath retail park, she used a stolen bank card to steal £540 in cash from an ATM. 

On 10^th July last year by attempting to remove the lock on the door of an address in Union Street, Cowdenbeath, with a wrench, she attempted to break into the house. 

Finlay also admitted breaching a community payback order imposed for stealing a quantity of jewellery from a house in Burgh Road, Cowdenbeath, between 7^th December 2013 and 29^th August 2014. 

Depute fiscal Dev Kapadia said of the attempted break-in, “The house was occupied by the grandmother of the accused. The grandmother had difficulties with her over a period of time. 

“She was at bingo when a neighbour looked out of her window at 12.55pm and saw the accused at her grandmother’s back door.” 

Finlay spent ten minutes trying to remove the lock with a wrench. The woman took photos of this before banging on the window and Finlay quickly left. 

The gran later became “extremely upset” when she was shown the photographs. 

Defence solicitor Roshni Joshi said her client suffered from mental health difficulties. 

Sheriff Craig McSherry pointed out the solicitors repeatedly use “mental health” in mitigation when the condition is often “self-induced” because the misuse of drugs or excessive consumption of alcohol. 

Sheriff McSherry imposed a community payback order with 18 months’ supervision and a six-month restriction of liberty order.