A 'PROLIFIC' thief has been hauled back to prison after stealing snowboarding gear and raiding supermarkets just months after his release.

Jamie Clarke, of no fixed abode but believed to be in Weaverham, was jailed for 32 weeks on May 19 last year after stealing more than £1,000 of items from stores in Northwich and Knutsford.

But during his period of post-sentence supervision, the 36-year-old fell back into his old habits and committed further offences.

On January 30 this year he stole meat worth £119.98 from Aldi in Brook Street, Knutsford. A week later, on February 7, he stole £300 worth of car cleaning products from the Corkhills Hyundai garage in Hargreaves Road, Northwich.

This was followed by the theft of more meat, worth £200, from the Waitrose in London Road, Northwich, on February 18.

The following day, Clarke broke into a vehicle parked in Spencer Street and stole snowboarding equipment and work tools worth £2,560.

On the same day he entered Northwich Rugby Club as a trespasser and stole two charity boxes containing a few coins and bottles of spirits worth £125 from the bar.

Clarke was arrested and charged with three counts of theft from a shop, one of theft from a motor vehicle, one of burglary and one of breaching his post-sentence supervision requirements.

Appearing at Chester Magistrates Court on February 21, Clarke pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to a total of 15 weeks in jail.

The bench also ordered him to pay a total of £200 in compensation to his victims.

The court heard the reasons for custody were the seriousness of the offences, which were committed during a period of post-sentence supervision, as well as the defendant's 'poor record of dishonesty offences'.