bosses out of more than $5,000 to feed his craving for cocaine.

Steven Somner, 32, of Crawl Hill, Hamilton Parish, ordered goods from Home Paint Supplies, Magistrates' Court heard.

And he told the firm to charge the sum, amounting to over $5,000, to the yacht club -- pretending he was still employed there, said Sgt. Earl Kirby, prosecuting.

Somner knew the club had an account with the company, Sgt. Kirby added.

Yesterday Somner was jailed for six months after pleading guilty to six specimen charges of attempting to defraud the paint company.

He also asked for 14 other similar offences to be taken into consideration.

The offences occurred between September and October.

Sgt. Kirby said Somner had cooperated with Police, and admitted he had a drugs problem.

"He told them he needed cash to buy drugs, because he has a serious coke addiction problem.'' Somner urged Mr. Francis not to jail him, claiming a previous prison sentence had not helped his addiction.

He also claimed he had an offer of a job, hinging on the outcome of the court case.

Mr. Francis, however, said he had no alternative but to jail him for six months on each charge, to run concurrently.