A thief has found himself behind bars after he stole 15 bottles of alcohol from a supermarket.

Gareth Fanning, formerly of Milverton Court, eventually pleaded guilty to the charge dating from September 6 when he came before the bench at Swindon Magistrates' Court.

He had initially indicated a not guilty plea to the bench, but he was sent back down to the cells after he insulted the magistrates.

When he returned to court he apologised to the bench for what he had said and changed his plea to guilty.

The court heard that he had entered the Co-operative in Sussex Place as a trespasser and then stolen 15 bottles of alcohol, with a total value of £305.31.

Jailing him, the magistrates said they had no choice but to send him to custody as the offence had been planned with others and it was aggravated by his previous record of offending.

Fanning, who has a record of more than 90 offences, was last jailed at the end of July for a string of theft charges - with one offence committed just three days after he was given a suspended prison sentence for other theft matters.

He will spend 16 weeks behind bars for the offence and pay a victim surcharge of £115, but magistrates made no order for compensation or Crown Prosecution Service costs due to the defendant's limited means.