A SERIAL shoplifter stole Ralph Lauren jackets from TK Maxx worth over £300 and ran straight into a waiting police officer on leaving the store.

Gary Dauncey, of High Street, Carisbrooke, admitted shoplifting and failing to provide a drugs sample, in Newport, on Thursday, October 31.

The 53-year-old appeared at the Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court the following day.

Dauncey simply went into the store, selected the items he wished to steal, and left, said Giles Fletcher, prosecuting.

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"He left the store and and walked straight into a police officer, waiting outside," said Mr Fletcher.

At Newport Police Station, following his arrest, Dauncey — suspected of having class A drugs in his system — refused to co-operate with a blood test and provide a sample.

Dauncey had reoffended within two days of being released from HMP Isle of Wight.

He has a record of 78 convictions for 161 offences — 152 of them for shoplifting and kindred offences of dishonesty.

For Dauncey, Nick Muir said his client left prison with a £5 leaving grant and "struggled to live on it".

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On September 13, Dauncey was made subject to an 18-month probation order.

Presiding magistrate, Keith Jones said: "You'd been out of prison for only two days when you committed the latest offences. It was not a very good start," he said.

Dauncey was fined £200 with an £80 surcharge.