Drug addict thief jailed for eight months after his actions devastated Oswestry businesses

One of the businesses, the Casuals menswear shop, in Salop Road, was forced to close for good and shut its doors on February 1. It had been burgled on December 8 and again on February 8, after the shop had shut for the last time.

Carl Doidge, aged 37, of Albert Mews, Oswestry, pleaded guilty to two counts of non-domestic burglary and 16 counts of shoplifting, all carried out between December 2022 and March 2023. He appeared for sentencing at Telford Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

In a victim impact statement, the owner of Casuals said the business had been "shattered" by the "vile individual and his destructive actions".

The business had been building up nicely and they had been looking forward to trading in 2023 but "our dreams have been shattered, it has been upsetting to close the business".

The statement said two members of staff had been injured on broken glass while clearing up the mess.

Kate Diamond of Time Invaders said that the burglary carried out by Doidge on February 13 had a "dramatic impact" on her business.

Doidge had broken in and stolen key rings, comic books, cash, war gaming kit and other items.

The victim said Doidge had caused up to £900 in damage to a door and its frame, stolen a Cat Rescue charity tin, and the shop had to be closed for two days for a clean-up.

"It has taken several weeks to rebuild the business," the court was told.

Items stolen from an array of businesses during the spree had included an air fryer, home fragrances belonging to B&M, 10 candles from Sainsbury's, an electric razor from Wilkinson's, meat from M&S, coffee from Morrisons and a £14 bottle of vodka from Aldi.

Shakeel Ahmed, mitigating, said his client had managed to sort his life out since coming out of prison in 2019. He was a user of class A drugs.

But he said when Doidge's prescription for 70mg of methodone each day switched to another chemist, the six-week delay had been impossible for him to deal with.

"There was no chance for him to do six weeks, that is the context of his offending," he said.

"He gradually got worse and worse and he started to offend."

On January 18 Doidge's mother died after a short illness and this brought him to using class A drugs and alcohol, the court heard.

The offending had no planning and he would walk into shops, pick items up and walk out again, with it recorded on CCTV.

Mr Ahmed said his client would welcome the chance of a stay in prison to get back on an even keel.

"He needs a short period inside to stabilise himself and hopes when he is released he will be having a prescription," he added.

Mr Ahmed said Doidge, who appeared in court on a prison video link, would "rather come out stable, and is keen to do it and is motivated".

Presiding magistrate David Silcock jailed Doidge for four months on two charges of non-domestic burglary. The sentence will be consecutive, meaning he will spend eight months in prison.

Doidge was given six months in total for all the shoplifting offences to be carried out concurrently to the main sentence. He also faces the prospect of a criminal behaviour order against him when he leaves prison.