A shop thief equipped with a detagging device has been jailed for two years after raiding a store three times in breach of a suspended sentence order.

Michael Carter was caught on camera taking bottles of pink gin from Asda in Canterbury Avenue, Bradford, and nabbed by a security guard when he returned to steal cosmetics two days later.

Carter, 21, of Willow Close, Allerton, Bradford, pleaded guilty to shoplifting twice on June 18 and once on June 20. He was convicted at the magistrates’ court of having a bladed article on the second occasion and he admitted a breach of his bail on July 8.

Prosecutor Rebecca Young told Bradford Crown Court that he committed the offences in breach of an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, imposed at the court on March 3 for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

Miss Young said Carter, who was remanded to HMP Doncaster, entered the Asda store with two other males on June 18 and stole three bottles of pink gin. The thieves were back later that day to steal three more, with a total value of £96.

Carter was seen detagging the bottles to sneak them out.

Two days later, he was back in the store at 3.15pm with a single accomplice.

He stole cosmetics worth £23 and stashed them in his backpack.

When the police were called and he was searched he was found to be carrying a Stanley knife blade in the bag.

He had previous convictions for shoplifting, burglary and possession of drugs.

Jayne Beckett said in mitigation that he never had any intention of using the blade.

He had been in a relationship, free from drugs and working at McDonald’s when there was an acrimonious break-up with his partner. He began taking drugs again and drifted back into thieving.

He had been in custody on remand for almost four months and was now free from illegal drugs.

Judge Ahmed Nadim activated the suspended sentence order in full and jailed Carter for a total of six months to run consecutively for the new offences.

He accepted that Carter never intended to produce the knife.

But within three months of receiving the suspended sentence order he was thieving again, equipped with the detagging device for stealing bottles of alcohol.

Judge Nadim warned Carter not to spend the best years of his life stealing, coming before the courts and going back to prison.

“There’s no one on planet earth that can help you if you don’t find a more positive way of living,” he told him.