A man has been sentenced after he stole items worth more than £1,400 from shops in Farnborough.

Lloyd Connell, 27, of Colwyn Close, Yateley, stole food, coffee and drinks worth a total of £1,430 from Tesco Express, BP and Iceland between July and October this year.

He also attempted to use bank cards which weren’t his on three separate occasions and was also caught in possession of cannabis twice.

Officers charged Connell with 23 counts of theft from a shop, three counts of fraud by false representation and two counts of possession of a controlled drug of Class B.

He pleaded guilty to all offences and was sentenced at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on Wednesday 26 November.

Connell, who has been remanded in custody since October, received 28 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was also handed a 12-month drug rehabilitation order.

PC Nilam Rai, from the Farnborough Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Our message is clear – shoplifting in Farnborough will not be tolerated.

"The actions of shoplifters makes a huge difference to businesses as they will have to recover the costs which have been lost. This results in shops typically increasing prices, which has a huge impact on the wider public.

“I hope this highlights that our officers take all reports of shoplifting extremely seriously and I’m pleased to see that Connell has been held accountable for his actions.

“If Connell commits further offences during his suspended period, he will immediately be placed behind bars to serve his sentence in custody.”