A prolific shoplifter is back behind bars after ignoring a ban that was supposed to stop him going into town centre stores.

Martin Morgan left prison on licence on January 9 after being jailed in May 2023 for breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order that banned him from entering Swindon town centre shops.

The 38-year-old, of Great Western Hotel, knew that the order remained in place until 2025 but breached it again on January 24 by entering the One Below on Regent Street and stealing items worth £150 altogether.

Officers arrested him on January 30 and he appeared in court a day later, where magistrates ordered him to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activities, and pay £114 to fund victim services.

Despite this, he breached the ban again on February 1, the day after that court case, by entering the town centre Boots and stealing goods worth approximately £150.

On February 5, Morgan entered the High Street Co-op and attempted to steal more than £100 worth of alcohol, but he was detained and arrested, then remanded to court the following day.

This latest court case ended with him being recalled to prison and receiving an extra 12-month jail sentence.

Swindon Advertiser: Martin MorganMartin Morgan (Image: Wiltshire Police)

PC Adam Gutowski said: “Quite frankly, we as the local policing team, and the local businesses in Swindon town centre, are fed up of Morgan’s constant offending and inability to comply with the restrictions imposed on him by the Criminal Behaviour Order.

“He continues time and time again to offend, causing misery for business owners in the local area.

“I am pleased that he has been given a further custodial sentence which means he will not be able to cause further misery to local shop owners.”

Before the ban first came into force in May 2023, Morgan appeared at Swindon Magistrates Court on several other occasions.

In December 2022, he pleaded guilty to four charges of theft for shoplifting from Boots, Poundland and the Co-op after being arrested during the police's Operation Dasher crackdown on retail theft.

In March that year, he received a suspended prison sentence for stealing goods worth more than £3,000 from retailers including the Co-Ops in Old Town and Cheney Manor Road and Marks and Spender and Boots in the Brunel Plaza.

This sentence then activated after he was caught shoplifting from Wilko just a few days later.