Man jailed for shop theft

A man has been jailed for eight weeks after pleading guilty to several shop thefts in South Gloucestershire.

Anton Varga, 39, from Berkeley House, Staple Hill, was sentenced for six counts of shop theft at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 3 September.

Varga had only recently been handed a suspended sentence for previous offences and went on to commit these further thefts, and was therefore arrested, charged, and given a custodial sentence.

He also breached the conditions of a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) which was also in place and has been ordered to pay compensation and a victim surcharge of £154.

Sgt Matthew Cooke, from the Staple Hill Neighbourhood Team, said: “We welcome the custodial sentence issued by the courts as Varga is a prolific offender, and we would continue to urge business owners and retailers to continue reporting incidents to us.

“Not only do shop thefts create significant financial harm to the businesses targeted, but the related anti-social behaviour can cause harassment, alarm and distress to staff and the wider community.”