A PROLIFIC criminal from west Cumbria whose record includes 89 previous thefts has been jailed for his latest spate of offending.

Nicky Hewitson, 35, began stealing within days of being released from his most recent prison sentence, beginning when he sneaked into an unlocked parked car and took a woman’s purse containing £300.

At Carlisle’s Rickergate court, the defendant, of Roper Street, Workington, pleaded guilty to seven offences. They were four thefts, covering his theft of the purse and three shoplifting offences.

George Shelley, prosecuting, outlined the facts.

The crime spree began on January 2 when Hewitson noticed that the door of a car parked in Dean Street, Workington, was unlocked. He began rummaging inside the car, where he found the purse.

“It contained £300,” said Mr Shelley.

The victim noticed her purse, along with the cash and bank cards, had been stolen when she went to her car the following morning. The defendant was identified after police reviewed video footage from the victim’s doorbell camera.

Mr Shelley went on to outline how Hewitson continued stealing. First, at 6.30am on January 4, he stole from McColls in Harrington Road, and then went on to the nearby Spar shop where he stole booze worth £29.

Staff recovered those goods but a bottle of alcohol costing £7.49, which Hewitson had hidden down his trousers, was not recovered. After this, Hewitson returned to McColls and again he tried to steal.

But staff recognised him and refused to let him leave the shop until he had handed over the goods he had taken. He had taken Prosecco worth £50. The defendant also admitted three breaches of his criminal behaviour order.

Each of these offences related to him entering shops which are part of Workington Shopwatch when he was shoplifting – despite his order barring him from all the shops he had gone into.

Mr Shelley added that the defendant had 162 previous offences on his record, 89 of which were theft of kindred offences.

John Smith, for Hewitson, said the defendant was motivated to address his offending. At the time of his latest offences, said the lawyer, Hewitson had tried but was unable to get the methadone he was being offered on prescription.

Mr Smith also suggested that Hewitson was unclear about which shops he was banned from. “Nobody was telling him where his methadone might be and he was feeling a little bit hard done by,” said the lawyer.

Mr Smith added that Hewitson was willing to complete a drug rehabilitation requirement.

District Judge John Temperley said it was positive if the defendant felt motivated to address his offending behaviour, adding: “But that’s not going to persuade me to impose a non-custodial sentence.

“The period you will spend in prison can be used to clarify the orders you are subjected to  and what you can do when you come out of prison. These offences are massively aggravated by your record.”

The district judge noted that Hewitson offended again just after his release from jail. The defendant was jailed for 14 weeks and he must pay compensation of £300 to the woman whose purse he took.