An ex-soldier made off with more than £2,700-worth of goods after targeting three shops at least 20 times in a month.
David Muckle helped himself to the haul of items, mainly booze and Shark hoovers, from two Co-op branches and an Asda, all in Ashington, sometimes stealing from the same store numerous times in one day. A court heard that, on one occasion, the 31-year-old also stole a TV, wall bracket and king-sized duvet from a room in a Premier Inn, also in the Northumberland town.
Now, the serial crook, who was on a community order for shoplifting at the time, has been given a final chance to keep his freedom after he pleaded guilty to 19 counts of shop theft at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court. Instead, he was handed a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
