A prolific thief who is banned from every store in a North East city centre has been jailed – after ignoring a court order.

Liam Ellison has been the subject of a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) since October 2022 because of his frequent and spiralling offending.

Ellison, 35, is banned from entering any retail premises in Sunderland city centre, but he decided to ignore these conditions and wandered into The Bridges Shopping Centre on Saturday (April 20).

He was immediately spotted by the Bridges security staff who alerted police. Ellison was arrested and charged with breaching his CBO.

On Monday (April 22), he appeared before magistrates in South Tyneside and was jailed for 14 weeks.

Sergeant Dave Catton, of Northumbria Police, spearheads the Sunderland Altogether Improving Lives (SAIL) partnership in the city centre. The project sees police work with the council, businesses and other partners to combat crime.

Sgt Catton said: “Liam Ellison has been a drain on police resources for some time and has been causing misery to businesses and shoppers alike.

“The CBO that he received 18 months ago came with various strict conditions which restricted his movement and acted as a final opportunity for Ellison to clean up his act.

“However, on Saturday he ignored his CBO and entered Deichmann in The Bridges Shopping Centre. We were immediately alerted by security staff and placed him under arrest.

“Now as a result of his total disregard for the law and others, he has been jailed – and that is only possible because of the CBO, which gives courts greater powers to deal with serial offenders.

“As ever, I would like to thank our partners in SAIL and the wider public as we all work to ensure Sunderland city centre remains a safe and hassle-free environment to live, work and visit.”

The SAIL project launched in 2022 and brings together the expertise of various partner agencies under one roof.

The initiative sees officers work collaboratively with Sunderland City Council and Sunderland Business Improvement District (BID) – alongside other support services.

Marion Dixon, Assistant Director of Regulatory Services at Sunderland City Council, said: “As partners in the SAIL project we work closely with the police and other city centre partners all year round to make Sunderland city centre a safe and welcoming place to visit.

“We hope that this conviction sends out a strong message that we are not prepared to tolerate this kind of persistent offending behaviour in our city centre as well as reinforcing the consequences of ignoring the law.”

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Ellison, of no fixed abode, is the subject of a CBO until October 2025 which forbids him from entering any retail premises within Sunderland city centre.

He is also banned from having any open bottle, can, container or vessel of alcohol in a public place apart from inside a licenced premises.

Anyone who believes Ellison has breached his CBO should contact officers via the ‘Report’ page of Northumbria Police’s website or by calling 101.