Highland man jailed for theft of building equipment in Inverness and Caithness

A man has been jailed for eight months for his part in the theft of two items of building equipment.

Michael Aikman (38) pleaded guilty at Wick Sheriff Court last week.

He removed a breaker and a vibrator from the rural-based Caithness firm of Allan’s of Gillock and stole an excavator and trailer from Campbell Plant Hire at Inverness. The offences occurred between March 18 and April 4, 2022.

Sheriff Neil Wilson told Aikman, of Bayview Terrace, Thurso, that he regarded the thefts as “a very serious matter indeed” and added: “This was a premeditated course of dishonest conduct”.

The sheriff said that his starting point for a custodial sentence was 12 months but in light of the accused’s guilty early plea he would reduce it to eight months.