A HEROIN addict has been jailed after his 99th conviction for 277 crimes.

The latest five offences included three thefts, failure to give a drug test specimen at Colchester police station and assaulting a staff nurse.

Steven Baker, 33, from Colchester, began his latest crime spree after he received a suspended sentence on May 29 for a series of thefts in Colchester.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard after avoiding jail he lasted less than a week before turning to crime again.

On June 5, he stole £112.74 worth of meat from Tesco.

He was arrested on June 6 and refused to give a drug sample.

After being released on bail, he went to Aldi on June 8 to steal £63.54 of meat.

He was caught again and, while in custody, asked to see a nurse for his heroin withdrawal symptoms.

She refused to give any medication and he became verbally abusive, before spitting in her face. He was also sentenced for another theft of meat from another supermarket in Colchester in March.

Paul Baker, mitigating, claimed Steven Baker tried to get help from Open Road during that week, but no appointments were available.

Judge Martyn Levett said: “You are not ready to co-operate.

“You failed to provide a specimen and there is no reason not to imprison you.

“After May 29, you may have taken one step, but you are a person not prepared to comply.”

Baker was sentenced to 36 weeks for breaching the suspended sentence and for the series of thefts in the spring.

He received jail terms of ten weeks for the Tesco meat theft on top, plus ten weeks for failing to provide a specimen to run concurrently.

He received another ten weeks for the Aldi theft on top and ten weeks for the March theft to run concurrently with that sentence.

He received an additional five weeks for assaulting the nurse, making 61 weeks in total.