A “prolific“ shoplifter who stole alcohol worth nearly £4,000 during a string of thefts from stores in Colchester and Halstead has been jailed for three months.

Scott Butcher stole from 20 Co-op stores and two One-Stop shops during a spree of offending between May 25 and July 9 last year, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Butcher, 34, of Priory Street, Colchester, who is currently serving a 17-month prison sentence for burglary, theft and an earlier breach of a non-molestation order, admitted 22 offences of theft, possessing a small amount of amphetamine and breaching a non-molestation order banning him from contacting his former partner.

Recorder Graham Huston described Butcher, who appeared in court via a prison video link, as a “prolific” offender.

Daniel Setter, prosecuting, said the alcohol stolen from the Co-op stores was worth £3,980.

He said Butcher had selected bottles of alcohol before leaving the stores without paying.

On some occasions he had carried the bottles out in one of the stores’ wire baskets.

The court heard that Butcher, who has 100 previous convictions, had stolen the alcohol to get money to feed his drug habit.