A SERIAL thief has been sent back to prison after he verbally abused a shopworker in one of the town's supermarkets.

Aaron Joseph Grant, who lives in Basingstoke, admitted to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards the victim, who works at Morrisons on Worting Road.

The 29-year had stolen six bottles of whiskey from the store, valued at £218, last Monday (January 25) when the abuse happened.

Appearing at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court last week, Grant pleaded guilty to the two charges, and was jailed for four weeks.

District Judge Timothy Pattinson had decided that the offences were so serious because of his history of similar offences, and that shopworkers deserve to be protected whilst working on the frontline during the pandemic.

The court also heard how Grant, of May Place, was serving a suspended sentence when the incident happened.

He had been handed a 12 week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, after stealing a woman's handbag in Basingstoke on December 17, 2020.

The bag cost in the region of £440 to £540.

Grant admitted the breach when appearing in court, and was immediately sent back to prison.

His punishment for breaching the sentence was a 10 week jail term, which will be served after the initial four weeks, making a total term of 14 weeks.

Grant has also been ordered to pay £100 in compensation, whilst costs and a victim surcharge were waived because of the custodial sentence.