Thief jailed for stealing £1,124 of goods from three Southend shops

A thief who stole £1,124 of goods from three shops in Southend has been jailed for 38 weeks.

David Knight, 41, of no fixed address, admitted to committing 16 shop thefts between April 19 and June 10 before Southend Magistrates Court on June 13.

He was jailed for 16 weeks but magistrates also activated a 12 week suspended sentence by Sussex Central Magistrates' Court on March 3 to run consecutively.

Mr Knight stole £1,030 of meat, alcohol and toiletries from the BP garage in West Street, Westcliff.

He also stole £30 of chocolate and coffee from the Co-Op in Hamlet Court Road and a £50 pressure washer and £14 of flowers from Lidl in London Road.

He was then spotted in the street and arrested.

Sergeant Steve Wells said: “Operation Raker was set up to focus on prolific offenders in the city and our officers know all their faces.

“So a lot of our arrests, such as Knight’s, are made because we recognise them in the street.

“Through this work, we’re working to make sure our high streets and shopping areas are safe for people to work in and visit.”

Knight was ordered to pay £1,030 compensation to BP and £30 to the Co-op plus £85 costs and a £154 victim surcharge.