A PERSISTENT shop thief has been banned from all the main shops in his town for three years.

Lee John McDonald, 35, was also jailed for 46 weeks for his latest shoplifting spree which began the day after York magistrates gave him a chance to show he could stay inside the law.

Kathryn Reeve, prosecuting, said when police community support officers tried to stop his thieving on December 21, he yelled “Come any closer, I will stab you with this needle, I mean it".

He took something out of his back pocket, but the lighting was poor and officers couldn’t see what it was.

His solicitor John Ratcliff said: “He is in the grip of a serious addiction to drugs.”

York magistrates made a criminal behaviour order banning McDonald from going into any of the main stores in Selby town centre or Three Lakes Retail Park for the next three years.

The order gives a long list of the stores he cannot now enter until January 17, 2021, including branches of Wilkinsons, Sainsbury’s, Argos, Homebase and Aldi.

McDonald, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to three charges of stealing razors from Wilkinsons, one of stealing a garden trimmer from Homebase and one of attempting to steal meat from Sainsbury’s, all committed in September.

He also admitted stealing razors from Wilkinsons and power tools from Homebase on December 19, meat from Sainsbury’s on December 20 and December 21, and using threatening words towards the police officers, stealing deodorants and sweets from Savers and 11 bags of prawns from Aldi, and attempting to steal food from Tesco, all on December 21.

All the offences were in Selby town centre or Three Lakes Retail Park.

On December 18, York magistrates gave him a 12-month community order for two thefts from Selby shops on December 10 and 12. He was last released from prison on November 27, part-way through a 17-week prison sentence for other thefts and has 137 previous convictions, mostly for theft.

Mr Ratcliff said McDonald hoped to tackle his drug addiction while in prison.

A police spokesman said: "This result could only have been achieved by partnership working from the Safer Selby Hub, North Yorkshire Police and the continuous engagement and help from the public of Selby."