A man has been jailed after stealing almost £750-worth of goods from shops in Stoke-on-Trent, Stone and Stafford.

Alex Hilditch, 28, from Hanley, was sentenced to eight months in prison at the North Staffordshire Justice Centre on Monday (9 February).

He admitted five counts of theft from a shop and two counts of breaching a criminal behaviour order (CBO).

Between 19 January and Friday 6 February, £742-worth of goods were taken from shops on Werrington Road in Stoke-on-Trent, Queensville in Stafford and Stafford Road in Stone.

Hilditch also entered a shop on Werrington Road twice on 19 January, which a CBO prevented him from doing.

A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police said: "He was arrested by officers on #problemsolvingpolicing patrols, where officers have spent more than 13,000 hours on the beat, tackling local issues since the crackdown was launched in May last year.

"When he was interviewed in custody, Hilditch answered 'no comment' to all questions asked, but officers worked tirelessly to gather evidence against him, which led to him pleading guilty in court only two days later."

Sergeant Adam Charlesworth, of the City Intervention Team (CIT), worked on the case.

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He said: "Our team work proactively to tackle issues that matter most to local people and businesses.

"Between September and December 2025, CIT dealt with around 310 incidents in Stoke-on-Trent and made 130 arrests, significantly reducing the workload of other officers and meaning that investigations move more quickly, and victims see results much faster.

"I hope this result demonstrates that we do not underestimate the impact that theft has upon local businesses, and we will take robust action against those responsible."