
A man described in court as the “scourge” of Manchester city centre has been given one last chance by a judge.
Michael Conway-Williams, who has 59 criminal convictions for 174 separate offences, pleaded guilty to further burglaries at Manchester Crown Court.
The 39-year-old faced a minimum jail sentence of three years under the so-called ‘three strikes’ legislation for persistent offenders.
But the court heard Conway-Williams had a ‘narcotics blocker’ implanted in his upper arm to nullify the effects of opiates and had been offered a room at supported accommodation in north Manchester which offers a substance misuse recovery programme for drug or alcohol addicts.
The judge told Mr Conway-Williams that if he breaches the zero-tolerance drugs policy of the programme he would face “a significant prison sentence”.