A habitual Gosport thief has been jailed and banned from a number of supermarket chains across the country for five years.

Andrew Brady, 43 and of no fixed address, was jailed for 20 weeks and handed a five-year ban on entering any Tesco, Asda, Lidl or Morrisons stores as part of a criminal behaviour order.

A court heard that between, December 31, 2023 and May 23 this year, Brady stole more than £1,500 worth of goods from shops in Gosport and Lee-on-the-Solent.

He also stole a wallet in Brockhurst Gate on May 21.

The goods stolen from shops included alcohol, food, and sun cream.

He appeared before a judge at Portsmouth Crown Court on Thursday, October 17, where he was handed the prison sentence as well as the criminal behaviour order.

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The full list of shops from which Brady has been banned are:

He cannot enter any Waitrose, Spar, Essential, Welcome, Co-op, One Stop. Farmfood, Superdrug or The Food Warehouse stores.

If Brady fails to comply with the order, he risks being arrested and prosecuted.

Sergeant Rhys McCarthy, from the Gosport Neighbourhoods Policing Team, said: “Brady has continually targeted shops across the district, stealing all manner of different food items and showing no willingness to comply with the law.

“We regularly target and prosecute shoplifters, however securing this CBO provides additional restrictions which help us prevent and disrupt any potential further offending perpetrated by Brady.

“Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. Repeat offences in particular can create an environment of fear for many retail workers, and this is simply not ok.

“We want to stop this type of behaviour, and encourage businesses affected to please keep reporting crimes to us so we can relentlessly pursue those responsible.

“Local policing teams put in a lot of work to support businesses, disrupt habitual offenders like Brady, and also work with support services for those whose offending cycle is driven by other factors such as drug and alcohol dependency.”