A THIEF has been ordered to pay compensation after stealing from shops in Ludlow.

Leon Preece appeared before magistrates for sentencing in January after entering guilty pleas to two counts of theft from a shop and one count of failing to surrender to police or court bail at the appointed time at an earlier hearing in December.

The court heard from prosecutor Chris Coughlan that Preece had stolen four packets of crisps, worth a total of £4.06, from Ludlow's Livesey Stores and four cans of Brewdog beer from the town's Tower Street One Stop shop on October 13.

The 39-year-old, who was represented at the hearing in Telford by defence solicitor Danny Smith, had also 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.

Preece, of Toll Gate Road, Ludlow, was handed a 12-month community order and must complete a 12-month alcohol treatment programme and a 12-month mental health treatment programme.

He was also ordered to pay compensation of £4.06 to Livesey Stores, £21 to One Stop, and prosecution costs of £135.