A prolific thief who stole more than £1,000 worth of stuff, including hundreds of pounds worth of Lego, has been branded a “one man stealing machine” by a judge.

Andrew Foulds was jailed and has also been banned from all the shops in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough.

He  admitted to 21 shop lifting offences, as well as a separate public order offence, which was in relation to a bus tirade which left a 15-year-old girl crying and shaking with fear.

Read more: Dog seriously injured after being 'doused in petrol and set alight' in County Durham

Teesside Crown Court heard the 31-year-old had been given a restraining order in 2015 after being convicted of assaulting his former partner and causing grievous bodily harm.

In January, he spotted her daughter, who is 15-years-old, on a bus in Seaton Carew. She was with her grandmother at the time and after making it clear they did not want to speak to Fould, he proceeded to shout abuse, said he would smash the grandmother’s house up and started talking about fracturing his ex-partners’ skull.

The incident lasted about 10 to 15 minutes and left the teenager shaking and crying, the court heard.

Matthew Hopkins, prosecuting, told the court the defendant  had admitted a total of 21 shop offences, carried out between last October and February, from nine different stores.

Among the items taken were £320 worth of jeans on November 5 and £430 worth of Lego. The court heard he also shouted abuse at a shop worker who challenged him.

As a result, he has been banned from all the shops in Hartlepool, where the offences were carried out, and Middlesbrough, where he intends to move.

He has nine previous convictions for 42 offences. Two days before the first of the shop lifting offence for which he was being sentenced he had been given a community order in relation to 12 other shop thefts.

Mitigating, Michael Cahill said he accepted the public order offence was serious and added the defendant had already spent a period of time on remand.

He added: “He is motivated to live with his grandmother and get away from the Hartlepool area, which is where these offences have taken place.”

Judge Jonathan Carroll said: “You have a poor record for numerous types of offences, the overwhelming majority of which are for theft.

To get more stories from Teesside direct to your email basket go here

“Those shops are large national chains but they are also small local shops which are providing a service to the entire community. They can only survive if they are successful businesses; that’s people’s employment opportunities.

“You are a one man thieving machine, racing around the shops of Hartlepool and stealing as much as you can get your hands on. It has to stop.”

Foulds, of Tower Street, Hartlepool, was sentenced to six months and 18 weeks in prison and given a restraining order which means he cannot enter commercial premises in Hartlepool or Middlesbrough.

Read next:

Husband found not guilty of attempted murder after beating wife with stick

Revealed: The naked cyclists who have been spotted in County Durham and Teesside

Two North East shops shut down in crackdown on illegal tobacco sales

If you want to read more great stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here