A serial shoplifter has been ordered to get treatment for drug dependency after stealing 16 beanie hats from stores in Northampton town centre.
Dean Andrew Foster pleaded guilty to taking a dozen hats worth £144 from Trespass in the Grosvenor Centre on November 12 last year.
The 40-year-old was already subject of a one-year conditional discharge issued by magistrates in February for stealing four more hats worth £80 from Superdry on Boxing Day 2021.
Foster, of Hester Street, Northampton, also admitted thefts from Wilko in Northampton town centre during April 2022 totalling more than £130 when he appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court earlier this month.
In addition to the community order with a drug rehabilitation requirement, he was ordered to pay a total of £281.25 compensation plus £180 towards prosecution costs.
In addition to stealing hats, Foster’s previous offences included taking Veet trimmers and two spa gift sets from Superdrug on Boxing Day.