A PROLIFIC shoplifter who ignored a five-year ban from shops across Southend has been jailed after a police chase through the city.

James Butcher, who was wanted by Essex Police's Operation Raker team, was spotted by Southend Council CCTV operators in Queensway on Wednesday.

Officers were quickly deployed and a police chase took place when the 33-year-old made off by bike. He was caught and arrested in Victoria Avenue.

Butcher was charged for 23 offences including thefts and breaches of his criminal behaviour order from the One Stop in Sutton Road, BP in London Road, Farm Foods at Greyhound trading estate, Savers and Co-op in Hamlet Court Road, and Waitrose in Fossets Way.

He was handed the five-year order last March after stealing more than £900 of food from the shops, as well as "intimidating and threatening" shop staff.

During one incident, he pushed aside an employee as he left a store with three bottles of alcohol.

Criminal behaviour orders place conditions on where offenders can go, limiting their ability to reoffend. Breaching these orders is a criminal offence.

Butcher, of no fixed address, was remanded to Southend Magistrates' Court, and today he was immediately jailed for a year.

An Essex Police spokesman in the city said: "This is a brilliant result and a demonstration of some great collaborative work between the town centre policing team, our partners in Southend Council and also the staff and managers from these stores, who lest we forget are the victims in these repeated incidents.

"The Operation Raker team will continue to pursue and deal with Southend's most prolific retail offenders."

Operation Raker was launched by the force's Southend town centre team to target persistent offenders who were responsible for a number of thefts, attacks and public order offences.