A prolific thief who took expensive jackets from shops in Keswick and Carlisle while on bail for stealing a woman’s purse has been sent to prison.
Andrew Mitchell, 37, found but then kept a purse which a woman left unattended in a city shop on August 10 last year.
Mitchell was identified as the purse thief after police viewed CCTV footage. He was released on bail in the aftermath.
But earlier this month he committed a number of other offences.
On April 1, Mitchell stole cans of vodka mixer from the English Street Spar shop in Carlisle city centre.
The following day, he attended the Go Outdoors store in Keswick and stole jackets worth £780.
Carlisle Magistrates’ Court heard he was stopped by an off-duty officer outside the shop.
Mitchell committed a similar theft on April 21, at Carlisle’s branch of Go Outdoors on English Street, taking Rab and Montane jackets with a total value of £1,980.
All jackets taken from the two stores were recovered, and Mitchell pleaded guilty to theft of all the goods.
The court heard Mitchell was struggling with substance misuse and addiction.
Latterly he had been offered professional help from a multitude of agencies.
But deputy district judge Peter Hayes noted that in committing new offences, Mitchell was in breach of both a community order and a conditional discharge.
“It seems clear you are going for some sort of record for the number of different things you can appear in front of me for,” said the judge.
A probation service report outlined what the judge noted was a very poor level of compliance.
The court also heard Mitchell, of Ravenstone Way, Carlisle, had around 200 criminal offences on his record — 131 for theft.
He was given an immediate 30-week prison sentence.
