Today we name three people who have appeared in court during the last weeks for shoplifting in Darlington and County Durham.

They were all charged with theft from a shop and received a wide range of sentences after appearing in Newton Aycliffe Peterlee Magistrates' Court.

Pleas of guilty were entered in all the cases. 

Christopher Webster, 41, of 2 Cotswold House, Headlam Road, Darlington, has been sentenced to jail for stealing air fresheners and laundry products from a local shop.

He was jailed for six weeks after pleading guilty to theft from a Savers Health and Beauty store in Darlington, on May 4.

The items stolen were valued at £25. Webster was ordered to pay a compensation of the value of the items stolen.

Magistrates said the offence was so severe that only a custodial sentence could be justified.

The reasons for this decision were based on the defendant's "flagrant disregard for people and their property".

Serial shoplifter Anthony Dawson, 45, of Hawkshead Place, Newton Aycliffe was jailed for a month for thefts from local supermarkets including Tesco and Sainsbury's from April to May 2024.

Dawson's haul included laundry items, meat, a variety of salmon, Yankee candles, packs of steak, and bottles of rosé wine, the total value of which exceeded £250.

Magistrates said the offences were considered serious enough to warrant a custodial sentence due to Dawson's "flagrant disregard for people and their property", according to the court.

In addition to his jail term, Dawson has been ordered to pay various amounts of compensation, totaling over £250, in connection with the thefts.

David Boggon, 37, of no fixed abode in Stanley, admitted guilt in a string of thefts totalling £343.76 and handling stolen goods worth £2,000.

He pleaded guilty to five thefts from various stores and handling a stolen guitar, between December 2023 and May 2024.

The thefts occurred at Home Bargains, Morrisons Service Station, Spar and The Original Factory Shop, where items including protein powder, meat and a microwave, were taken.

He was also caught handling a guitar valued at £2,000.

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Boggon was handed a community order, requiring him to complete 100 hours of unpaid work within 12 months.

Additionally, he was ordered to pay £343.76 in compensation, and fees of £85 in costs to the Crown Prosecution Service and £114 as a surcharge.