A persistent thief has been jailed for 15 weeks after he twice rejected magistrates’ attempts to punish him without locking him up.

Kevin John Haskins, 32, had two community orders for theft and handling stolen goods when stole washing powder from a convenience store on two separate days. The thefts were together worth £62.60, York magistrates heard.

Haskins had 76 previous convictions including 33 for dishonesty and had failed to do any of the 194 unpaid work hours on the two orders. He had already breached one of the orders and had skipped bail twice when he should have attended the court.

Magistrates said his failure to do his community punishment was “wilful and persistent” and jailed him for 15 weeks.

Haskins, who gave his mother’s address in Scarborough as his address, but who had previously lived at Cambridge House, Bootham Terrace, York, pleaded guilty to two charges of theft committed the Spar store on Clifton on June 22 and June 26, failure to attend court on July 17 and August 1, and breach of the community orders imposed for handling stolen meat, a third failure to attend court and a third theft.

His solicitor Craig Robertson said: “He doesn’t want to go into custody. He is in a situation where he is trying to sort his life out”.

Haskins had moved to Scarborough after his relationship with his long-time York partner had broken up, but was now “back in York” trying to be reconciled with her.

He had also had his methadone prescription stopped but was hoping to get it back.