A man, who was convicted for a string of shoplifting offences, has been sentenced to prison and issued with a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) stopping him from entering Didcot.

Simon White, 41, of Blay Road, Oxford, pleaded guilty to 15 offences of shoplifting at various retail outlets in Orchard Street, Didcot and London Road, Headington, between September and November 2020.

At his hearing at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday January 20, White also asked for a further seven offences of shoplifting to be taken into consideration.

He was sentenced to a total of 36 weeks in prison and issued with a CBO for a period of five years.

Under the terms of the CBO, White is banned from entering Didcot, specifically the Orchard Centre, unless he is travelling through the town on a train.

Between September and November 2020, White used to be driven to the Orchard Centre in Didcot to steal items from various shops.

If these items had security tags, he would first remove the tags and place these onto the shelves and then stash away the items in his coat or bag.

White also stole household items from the Tesco store in London Road in Headington.

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PC Emma Dobie, based at Didcot police station, said: “I am pleased that the court saw fit to sentence White to a custodial sentence for these offences and also issue a Criminal Behaviour Order to prevent him from re-offending in the future.

“I would like to express my gratitude to the victims for their support in bringing White to justice.

“Working together with the local community has resulted in this excellent outcome.

“The CBO was granted in order to protect the victim’s from White’s prolific actions both now and in the future.

“He was a blight to them during his period, causing additional stress and issues for the stores during this tough economic time due to Covid-19.

“This CBO will protect all retail outlets in the town, and hopefully White will get the help that he requires while he serves his prison sentence.”