A drunken shoplifting spree in Ludlow has led to a teenage soldier being sacked from the army and another man facing a possible prison sentence.

William Jones, 18, and Quaid Bundy, 21, were caught on CCTV stealing alcohol and food from three shops in the town last month.

The pair were arrested by police following the thefts on the evening of May 16 after both had been out drinking.

Magistrates at Telford were told the security alarm was activated as Bundy left the One-Stop shop at Gravel Hill just before 8pm with goods worth £22.50 – a 10-pack of lager, two bottles of lager, a DVD and a sandwich.

Later at 10.50pm both men were at the One-Stop shop in Tower Street where Bundy took 14 cans of beer worth £14 and Jones stole 12 cans of alcohol worth £12.

Around 10 minutes later Jones was seen on CCTV stealing a £3 bagette from the Spar store in Castle Street.

At court last week both men admitted two charges of shoplifting and were given a conditional discharge for a year and ordered to pay £85 costs.

Jones, of Maple Close, Ludlow, was also ordered to pay £15 in compensation, and Bundy, of Housman Crescent, Ludlow, had to pay a total of £36.50.

Bundy was said to be in breach of a 40-week prison sentence, suspended for two years in November, 2010, at Caernarvon Crown Court, for offences of assault causing actual bodily harm.

Mr Ian Easthope, who was representing both men, said the thefts were on a summer's evening and his clients had been drinking and these were stupid offences.

He said Jones had been serving as a gunner with the Royal Artillery, but was now to be discharged from the army.

It was a result of the thefts and his client's recent addiction to mephedrone (known as meow meow) and the army had a zero tolerance policy on drugs.

Mr Easthope said Jones had done well as a soldier and was a member of his regiment's boxing team, but had now lost his career.

He said Bundy, a trainee electrician, had completed 100 hours unpaid work required under the terms of the suspended prison sentence, and was now clear of his previous cocaine addiction.

Magistrates said the question of whether Bundy's suspended sentence should be activated was a decision for a judge at the crown court.