A shameless thief who stole a nurse's purse from a hospital and then used her bank cards in a spending spree has been jailed.
Shaun Clare snatched the purse from a nurses station at a hospital in Warrington on Tuesday, Cheshire Police said. The victim reported it being taken at around 11.40am.
She also discovered that her bank cards had been used to make several fraudulent purchases. Officers arrested a 32-year-old man in connection with the incident.
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Clare, of Plumpton Mews, Widnes, was subsequently charged with burglary other than a dwelling and three counts of fraud by false representation.
He was also charged with a number of other offences for unrelated incidents – these included breach of a criminal behaviour order, two counts of theft from a shop, two counts of vehicle interference, two counts of theft from a shop and an addition count of burglary other than a dwelling.
Clare pleaded guilty to all of the offences at a hearing at Warrington Magistrates' Court today. He was sentenced to 36 weeks in prison.
He was also ordered to pay £134 compensation and £156 victims surcharge. After the sentencing, PC Lauren Henthorn, of Widnes Proactive Policing Team, said: "The victim in this case was working to providing essential care to patients, while Clare was out on a spending spree using her hard earned money.
"Thankfully, as a result of the information she provided and the evidence gathered by the team here at Widnes, Clare is back behind bars and facing the consequences of his actions."
