AN ABUSIVE thief will be sentenced in January after entering guilty pleas to several charges in court.

Leon Preece entered a guilty plea to one count of drunk and disorderly behaviour, two counts of theft from a shop, one count of failing to surrender to police or court bail, and one count of using threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm, or distress when he appeared before magistrates in Kidderminster in December.

The court heard from prosecutor Lauren Millichip that the 38-year-old, who was represented at the hearing by defence solicitor Charlotte Gregory, had been drunk and disorderly in Ludlow's Sandpits and had used threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause a police officer harassment, alarm, or distress in Ludlow on August 28.

He had also stolen four packets of crisps worth £4.06 from Livesey Stores in Ludlow and four cans of Brewdog beer from One Stop in Ludlow's Tower Street on October 13, and had failed without reasonable cause to surrender to custody at Telford magistrates court on November 7 having been released on bail in criminal proceedings from Shrewsbury police station on October 14.

The case was adjourned for a pre-sentencing report to be carried out by the probation service and Preece, of Toll Gate Road, Ludlow, was released on bail with conditions not to enter Livesey Stores or the Tower Street One Stop and to live and sleep at his Toll Gate Road address each night. 

He will appear before magistrates in Telford for sentencing on January 10.