A prolific shoplifter who stole more than £1,200 worth of goods from several Folkestone shops has been jailed.

Repeat offender Darren Griffin, 27, took clothing, electrical equipment and alcohol during his three month crime spree, between November 2019 and January 2020.

He also stole a £1,000 bike from a man in the town centre, assaulted and threatened a woman and caused thousands of pounds of damage to a supermarket.

He was caught after police scoured CCTV from the shops he had targeted and he has since been jailed for a total of 12 months after appearing at Medway Magistrates Court.

Chf Insp Nick Sparkes, district commander for Folkestone and Hythe, said: "Our team in Folkestone worked hard to put together a strong case against Griffin and give the town's businesses a welcome break from his offending.

"Shoplifting impacts on staff, customers and the wider community and our officers work with stores and other partners to ensure they are protected from repeat offenders like Griffin."

Griffin, of no fixed abode, targeted stores in the Bouverie Place Shopping Centre on November 3, November 13 and January 1, in which he stole a £250 television, £350 worth of sports clothing and a £120 jacket.

In separate thefts, he also took £330 worth of ink cartridges from Sainsbury's in Bouverie Road West on November 13 and six bottles of alcohol worth £214 from another supermarket on January 7.

During the January 7 theft, he smashed a glass door to get away from staff, causing several thousand pounds worth of damage.

His final theft came the same day, when he stole a bicycle worth around £1,000 from a man in Dover Road.

On December 6 he shouted abuse at a woman in Cambridge Gardens and pressed his head against her to intimidate her.

After building up a case against Griffin, police arrested him on Wednesday, January 15 and found him to be in possession of cannabis.

After being confronted with CCTV and other evidence, Griffin admitted six counts of shoplifting, theft of a bike, assault, criminal damage and possession of cannabis during his court appearance.

He received a year long sentence.

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