A THIEF who specialises in stealing scratchcards has been jailed for 42 weeks for 18 raids on York shops.

Roland Richard Benson, 40, pocketed handfuls of the national lottery cards while cashiers were distracted and then made off without paying for them, said Katherine Schofield, prosecuting.

He did this successfully at supermarkets and convenience stores 18 times between January 9 and February 2 before he was caught.

By then he had stolen scratchcards with a purchase value of £810.

District judge Adrian Lower told him such offending could only be punished by jail and locked him up for 36 weeks, plus six weeks from a suspended prison sentence that Benson was on during the raids.

Benson, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at York Magistrates Court to 18 charges of theft.

For him, Harry Bayman said he had returned to his native city of York in 2017.

He had needed money for accommodation costs as he was homeless and the first theft had "happened almost by chance".

The district judge did not accept that and said the offences were all "clearly planned".

Mr Bayman said Benson was struggling with mental and physical health problems and also had a drug problem.

Benson targeted Tesco's eight times, taking £380 of scratchcards from the chain's stores in Low Ousegate, Goodramgate, Huntington, Strensall and Huntington.

He targeted Sainsbury's six times, taking £270 of scratchcards from the chain's Bootham, Foss Bank, Fulford Road and Monks Cross stores.

He made two raids on Morrison's Foss Islands Road store and one each on the Spar shops in Clifton and Turner Road, off Huntington Road.

Nottingham magistrates imposed the suspended prison sentence of 20 weeks suspended for 15 months on January 4, 2018, for fraud.