An Ipswich shoplifter who stole hundreds of pounds of meat and breached a criminal behaviour order three times in seven days has been jailed. 

Daniel Bannerman, 32, and of Spring Road, has been sentenced to 42 weeks behind bars after pleading guilty to five counts of theft from a shop and three counts of breach of a criminal behaviour order. 

During the hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court, it was heard that Bannerman had entered the Co-op store in Wimpole Road, Colchester, on New Year's Day and twice on January 7. 

The criminal behaviour order was first imposed in January 2021.

On January 2, Bannerman also stole meat from Tesco Express in Magdalen Street, as well as £106 of meat from a Co-op store on January 3.

He also stole a total of £167.93 of meat and £52.25 of cleaning products from the Co-op store in Wimpole Road on three separate occasions.

PC Mike Lee, of Essex Police, said after the case that Bannerman had persisted in his offending despite being given a chance to mend his ways.

He said: “We have a duty to protect all victims of crime from repeat offenders. And one way we can do this is by applying to the courts for criminal behaviour orders which are intended to prevent their re-offending and future impact on retail staff.

“Breaching them can result in a prison sentence, as Bannerman discovered when he appeared before the magistrates.

“Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. Offenders’ behaviour can affect staff and customers in the shops they target and I and other business crime officers work with retailers and staff to prevent this.

“Through our Open For Business, Closed For Crime campaign, we encourage retailers and staff to report incidents of abuse and violence so we can take action and put offenders before the courts.”