A PROLIFIC thief has been ordered to pay a building company compensation after he broke into a site office.

Lewis McKinnon also stole items after breaking into a garden nursery, a recycling centre and Musselburgh Racecourse during a six-month crime spree in the county.

McKinnon, of Dean Court, Whitecraig, first made his way into the building site office owned by Barratt Homes at Salters Road in Wallyford between November 5 and 8, 2021.

He took clothing and footwear, a mobile phone and a quantity of expensive tools from the site.

He then broke into Harlawhill Plant Nursery at Nethershott Road in Prestonpans on December 2 the same year and stole a bag of seeds, a box and a quantity of keys.

The 20-year-old also stole vehicle keys, clothing and glass bottles containing coins from Kinwegar Recycling Centre in Wallyford on May 10, 2022.

The crime wave continued, with McKinnon stealing two strimmers and two leaf blowers from Meadowmill Depot on May 24, 2022.

About a week later, McKinnon then smashed his way into a building at Musselburgh Racecourse where he made off with a key and an all-terrain vehicle on May 30, 2022.

The thief pleaded guilty to all the offences when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month and was back in the dock for sentencing last Wednesday.

Sheriff Ian Nicol sentenced McKinnon to a community payback order as an alternative to a custodial sentence and told the offender he must carry out 225 hours of unpaid work.

Sheriff Nicol also issued an order where McKinnon will have to pay Barratt Homes £1,000 in compensation as recompense for the goods he stole from the building site.