Thief jailed after ignoring shop bans

Ben Savory was hiding at the address of someone he knew when police found and arrested him

A shoplifter who breached a ban on entering retail premises in several Cotswold towns has been jailed for nearly a year.

Ben Savory, 31, of London Road in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, is subject to a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO), which runs until August 2027, for multiple counts of shoplifting.

Savory repeatedly breached his CBO and continued to shoplift.

He was jailed for 48 weeks following a hearing at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court on Thursday, where he admitted four counts of breaching his CBO, three counts of theft from a shop, and one count of failing to surrender to bail.

Savory's CBO bans him from entering several retail premises in Cirencester, Lechlade, Fairford, and South Cerney.

Insp Philippa Moore, from the Cotswolds Neighbourhood Policing team, said Savory "now faces the consequences of his actions".

'A detrimental impact'

"People may think that shoplifting isn't a serious crime, but when local businesses are repeatedly targeted this has a financial impact on them, and their staff may also be subjected to abuse or assault in the process of doing their job, which can have a detrimental impact," Insp Moore said.

"We encourage staff to report any breaches of orders to us so that we, and the courts, can take action to tackle this behaviour."