A crack addicted prolific thief travelled across the region raiding shops to fund his habit.
In a crime spree spanning almost five months, Shaun Ellwood targeted supermarkets and DIY stores, between Newton Aycliffe in County Durham and Berwick in Northumberland, stealing booze and goods worth hundreds of pounds.
But the 50-year-old's theft tour was today put to the end as he was jailed for three years at Newcastle Crown Court.
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Omar Ahmad prosecuting told how Ellwood's string of thefts and attempted thefts began in June and ended in November.
During this time he targeted:
- Asda, in Stanley, County Durham
-B&Q in Durham City
-Tesco in Newton Aycliffe
-B&Q in Darlington
-Tesco in Berwick, Northumberland.
-Asda in Washington
-A garden centre in Berwick
-Sainsbury's in Sunderland
Sometimes acting with an accomplice, Ellwood stole, or tried to steal, items including pizzas, pressure washers, clothing and hundreds of pounds worth of Champagne and spirits.
Glenn Gatland, mitigating, explained that Ellwood's crimes were fuelled by his addiction to crack cocaine, but that he did want to get help.
"He has a very bad crack cocaine habit," he said. "He has had addictions in the past and this is a way of paying for these drugs, so he just goes round in circles.
"The only glimmer of hope is he did say he really wants to seek help with his addiction because he recognises that when he is in custody that is the root of his problems."
Ellwood, of Ravenswood Square, Sunderland, already had 49 convictions for offences dating back to the late 1980s, the court was told.
He pleaded guilty to five counts of theft and two of non-dwelling burglary and was found guilty in his absence of four counts of attempted thefts.
Judge Sarah Mallett told him: "I'm told you want help with your addiction. I'm told you recognise that you can't continue to commit offences in this way."
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