A THIEF who was caught carrying a sock with a rock stashed inside it has been jailed.

Steven Jones, from Hood Manor, was handed 11 weeks behind bars at Warrington Magistrates Court on Tuesday, January 14.

The court heard that the 33-year-old pinched perfumes worth £74 from Debenhams in Golden Square Shopping Centre the previous day.

When detained and searched by police, he was found to be carrying a stone wrapped in a sock.

Jones, of Winstanley Close, admitted possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, theft and breaching a conditional discharge.

He had previously been allowed to walk free from court in March 2019 after pinching two DVD box sets worth £109.98 from HMV in the town centre and meat products valued at £42 from a Co-op store.

The defendant, who was described as having a ‘flagrant disregard for people and their property’, was also told to pay a victim surcharge of £122 – which will be deducted from his benefits.

Magistrates ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the stone and sock.