A ‘HABITUAL and prolific’ shoplifter has been put behind bars after his ‘one man crime wave’ was brought to an end.

Cheshire Police says Paul Morris caused ‘no end of misery’ through his thievery, with the defendant being the subject of a wanted appeal last month.

As reported by the Warrington Guardian earlier this week, he appeared before Chester Magistrates' Court on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to 36 counts of theft from a shop.

The court heard that the 36-year-old regularly targeted Co-op stores on Knutsford Road, Kingsway South and Holes Lane in 28 incidents, as well as other stores in Warrington and beyond.

Between January 25 and June 14, he stole a combined total of £3,739.75 worth of goods from retailers.

Morris was identified as the main suspect in these incidents after Warrington based police officers compiled a collection of CCTV footage.

This showed him entering stores, picking up a number of items and leaving without attempting to pay for them.

His crime spree came to an end on Friday, June 14, when he attempted to steal a trolley of meat products from the Lidl store on Old Liverpool Road in Sankey Bridges.

Morris was stopped by staff and police swiftly attended the scene and promptly arrested him after he also became aggressive toward shop staff.

Following his arrest, Morris refused to leave his cell to be interviewed, but despite this, he would later be charged with 36 counts of theft from a shop.

Faced with the amount of evidence against him, Morris, who was also wanted on three separate instances of failing to attend court over the course of his offending, entered guilty pleas.

Paul Morris was jailed at Chester Magistrates Court

Paul Morris was jailed at Chester Magistrates' Court

The defendant, of Rossall Road in Penketh, was sentenced to six-and-a-half months immediate imprisonment.

Along with his prison sentence, Morris was also issued with a £1,000 fine and handed a five-year criminal behaviour order that will activate immediately upon his release.

The sentence was welcomed by PC Andy Rowley, who oversaw the investigation and said: “Morris is a habitual and prolific shoplifter who caused no end of misery to retailers of Warrington during his near-five-month crime spree.

“During that period, he accumulated more than £3,700 worth of stolen goods through the deliberate targeting of nine stores across Warrington.

“CCTV footage gathered by our officers clearly identified him as the main suspect in all 36 instances.

“Upon his release from prison, Morris will be the subject to a five-year criminal behaviour order, designed to deter any further offending.

“Should he fail to comply with the conditions of his order, he could face a considerable fine or even a recall to prison.

“I hope that this result provides reassurance to both Warrington residents and retailers alike that we are continually doing all we can to crack down on those who insist on committing crime and causing disruption within our communities.”

Chief Inspector Neil Drum added: “The work in securing this sentence is excellent, and the criminal behaviour order in place gives even further opportunity to take action.

“This result is testament to the great work in of our officers and their commitment to get these results and get justice for retailers.”

Anyone who has any concerns regarding shoplifting is urged to report it by calling Cheshire Police on 101 or visiting cheshire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/