A shoplifter who stole 798 Cadbury’s Creme Eggs has been jailed for eight months.

Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court heard on Friday that Layton Richards, 29, from Brownlow Close in Portsmouth, had been charged with 24 shoplifting offences.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said he had stolen the chocolate between 6 January and 18 April.

Richards targeted 19 shops across Hampshire, Dorset and West Sussex, and took £3,463.96 worth of produce and products.

Ch Insp Marcus Cator, from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police, said: “This sentence is just one result of an ongoing and dedicated focus on targeting our most prolific offenders as effectively as possible.

“We have been working in strong partnership with retailers regarding offenders who repeatedly target stores and victims with their persistent, and often intimidating, criminality.”

He added: “It is important that we continue to focus on retail crime, protecting victims and ensuring that offenders are held to account for their criminality.”

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