Wayne Cook, of Newark, jailed at Nottingham Magistrates Court for shop thefts and burglary offences following crime spree in Newark

A shoplifter broke into a cinema and even stole a cleaner’s coat during a theft spree across the Newark area.

Wayne Cook crept through an unlocked door into the Odeon, on London Road, when it was being cleaned early in the morning.

Once inside the cinema in Newark town centre, he grabbed a coat belonging to one of the cleaners and tried to steal from the till.

However, there wasn’t any cash for him to take and Cook instead fled the scene with just the jacket after being spotted on November 10

This break-in wasn’t an isolated incident, with the 55-year-old also committing a series of shop thefts in the weeks either side.

Cook helped himself to various items from five different stores during seven separate incidents, from October 23 to November 30.

The first saw him pocket multiple Warhammer models, before he repeatedly targeted Boots, in Northgate Retail Park, for perfume and gift set boxes.

Meat products and sports supplements were stolen from two more stores, while he helped himself to cigarettes from behind the counter in Co-Op, on Side Row, on October 30.

Newark neighbourhood officers were able to link Cook to each of the eight offences, after reviewing CCTV footage and recognising his face on the clips.

The team managed to track him down on Monday (December 2), after a sighting of him was radioed in, with officers on patrol then stopping and detaining him in the town centre.

The following day, Tuesday, December 3, he was charged with six shop thefts and two burglaries – pleaded guilty to all crimes at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court.

Cook, of Bellmond Close, Newark, was given a 38-week prison sentence.

Inspector Charlotte Ellam, District Commander for Newark and Sherwood, said: “Thanks to our officers’ great work in gathering evidence relating to each of these incidents, Cook was left with no choice but to admit to his stealing spree when he was brought before the courts.

“The neighbourhood team’s local knowledge of who Cook was, based on previous dealings with him, played a role in him being apprehended, while this also showed the value of the patrols we conduct each day.

“This type of repetitive shoplifting can have a really negative impact on the community, with that decision to steal unfair on those who follow the rules and spend their hard-earned money on shopping.

“One of his offences saw him break into a cinema and steal items belonging to a cleaner who was just trying to do their job. This is clearly not acceptable and will never be tolerated by our policing team.

“It’s pleasing to hear that Cook will be kept out of trouble for the foreseeable future and will spend the Christmas period away from our stores.”