Hucknall shoplifter intimidated Co-op workers while raiding the same store 11 times

Clint Ford stole booze and food valued at £2,071 in eleven raids on the Watnall Road store and two at the Emperor's Way outlet, as well as £136 of steak, chicken and cakes from Sainsbury's on Watnall Road.

Prosecutor Katherine Wilson said he wore a balaclava on one occasion and brought an accomplice on others between December 31 and January 28.

One worker described herself as "scared and distressed" when Ford, aged 38, trapped her behind the counter and shouted abuse. She also said she was angry because he repeatedly targeted her store.

On Thursday, magistrates in Mansfield heard he has 29 previous convictions for 66 offences - 27 of which are for theft. He was jailed for two weeks for shoplifting in September, but there was an six-year gap in his offending after he was convicted of burglary in 2013.

A probation officer said Ford couldn’t be dealt with in the community as he had refused support for substance misuse and failed to attend meetings.

Ryan Higginbotham, mitigating, said: “He makes no excuses for his actions and his offending was motivated by substance misuse problems.” He said the father-of-one spiralled out of control following the recent deaths of two siblings and his mother.

Ford, of Laughton Crescent, Hucknall, was jailed for 18 weeks and ordered to pay £1,136 compensation after admitting 14 thefts. A three-year criminal behaviour order banning him from the three shops was also imposed.