A CARLISLE man who stole his father’s £6,000 watch to settle a drugs debt has admitted flouting his curfew.

But Joseph Brown, 40, told magistrates that the almost 24 hours when he failed to observe the court’s stay-at-home order was an attempt to avoid people coming to his door for drugs.

The curfew was part of a sentence imposed as punishment for offences of theft and fraud linked to the disappearance of his father's luxury Breitling watch, which he sneaked out of a safe at his parents' home.

“It was mainly down to unwanted callers due to drugs issues,” Brown told Carlisle’s Rickergate court, where he formally admitted breaching his curfew order.

“People come round and they want me to get them drugs; and people want to use drugs on my premises, so I’ve had to start leaving my premises because it sometimes gets violent,” he said.

Between April 17 and May 4, he skipped 23 hours and 57 minutes of his curfew. “I’m looking to find somewhere else to live," he said. "I want out.”

Brown, of Deepdale Drive, Morton, Carlisle, told the court he considered the seven-month curfew he was given as a part of his community order to have been “a bit harsh.”

He added that he had been promised a job once his curfew tag has been removed. After hearing his explanation, magistrates fined Brown £40.

When he was sentenced, the court heard that Brown had been battling a cocaine and Valium habit and stole a £6,000 watch from his father to settle his debt to a dealer.

READ MORE: Carlisle man stole dad's £6,000 Breitling watch to pay off drug dealer

He conned his father into handing over a further £50 by lying to him, claiming he needed the cash to retrieve the luxury watch from a local pawnbrokers' shop, something he had invented.

In reality, Brown gave the watch to the drugs criminal to whom he owed a 'significant debt'. Despite police checks, the watch was never found. A probation officer who interviewed Brown said his remorse appeared to be genuine.

He said he needed support to sort myself out. Asked if he was serious about tackling his drugs problem, Brown said he was 'deadly serious.'

A trained joiner, Brown said he planned to resume working with his father, though he accepted what happened would affect their relationship.

A judge imposed a 12-month community order, with 30 rehabilitation activity days, a drug rehabilitation requirement as well as the curfew.