Rushden thief caught stealing from Grangeway Co-op 17 times in a month
A thief who repeatedly targeted a convenience store in Rushden has been jailed.
The shoplifter stole groceries from the Co-op in Grangeway, Rushden, on 17 different occasions between April 16 and May 16.
He was eventually charged with 16 counts of theft and one of attempted theft from the Co-op, and another of theft from the Asda store Rushden during the same time period,
Alan Day, 37, of no fixed abode was before magistrates in Northampton to plead guilty to stealing items including meat and cheese, beer, laundry products, chocolate, dishwasher tablets and butter.
He was ordered to pay £703 in compensation and sent to prison for 25 weeks.
Day has previously been before the courts for failing to attend probation appointments after assaulting a woman.
Earlier this year, detectives who set up a special unit to tackle shoplifting, said they believed that shoplifters were taking items in bulk to sell on to other independent local corner shops who then sold them on their shop floors.
The three year project encourages all retailers to report all incidents of shoplifting to help tackle the most prolific thieves.