AN ALCOHOLIC chemist who stole drugs from a supermarket pharmacy in Widnes has been struck off after failing to stay on the wagon.
Warren Berry was given 18 months to clean up his act with a five-week stay at an addiction clinic, daily Alcoholic Anonymous meetings, as well as taking up a Master's degree and gym training.
He promised not to work again until he'd beaten his habit but relapsed within a few months.
On Thursday, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) found he was unfit to be on the Register because of misconduct.
Berry will be able to apply for restoration but was warned he will have to prove he is no longer an alcoholic.
Committee chairman Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, QC, said: 'We gave him a chance to clear himself of dependency on alcohol.
'Sadly he has not been able to avail himself of that opportunity.
'We have no option but to direct the removal of his name from the Register.'
Berry first appeared before the RPS in May 2003 after admitting stealing drugs while working as a locum at the Asda store pharmacy in Hale Road, Widnes, on February 14, 2002.
Berry was caught out by surveillance cameras after colleagues noticed his 'hyperactive' behaviour and tipped off his bosses.
A bag of medicine, including unprescribed and unpaid-for pills, was recovered from his car and police were called. The pharmacist later received a caution for theft.
Berry admitted taking a cocktail of tablets, including anti-depressants and tranquillisers to cope with the breakdown of his relationship.
He was ordered to attend the addiction clinic Birdsgrove House in Derbyshire for five weeks by the RPS but checked out a week early.
Berry was alcohol free between June and August last year while going to daily AA meetings, working out and sticking to a diet.
He also enrolled for a Master's degree but admitted in a letter he had 'succumbed to peer pressure and was drinking compulsivel'.
Berry wrote: 'When I couldn't cope with my alcohol-free regime I flipped a number of times.'
Berry, of Orton Road, Childwall, Liverpool, undertook not to practise and go for counselling.
He is now living with his parents and is attempting to dry out for a third time.
Berry, who qualified in July 1997, told the RPS in 2003: 'If I'd not been stressed or suffering a bad cold, or going through trouble in my relationship, I wouldn't have done this.'
