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A thief who targeted the same Greggs store on 12 occasions within a matter of weeks has been jailed for breaching his suspended sentence - after a year of avoiding the police.

Andrew Charleston eventually handed himself on Wednesday, April 15, after a warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to show for court 12-months-ago.

The 23-year-old was given a suspended sentence in February last year for 12 thefts from a Greggs in Byker and one from Boots, in Heaton.

In total, he stole £350-worth of food from the bakery chain and £800-worth of cosmetics from the pharmacy between July and September 2018.

Charleston was given a 24-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to attend appointments for drug rehabilitation.

However, he failed to show for those appointments and was summonsed back to court for breaching his order but failed to show for that also.

A warrant was issued for his arrest and, eventually, 12-months-later, Charleston, of Dalton Crescent, Byker, handed himself in.

He appeared in custody at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court on Thursday, where he admitted breaching his suspended sentence.

Locking him up for 14 weeks, District Judge Sarah Griffiths said: "Due to the repeated spree of thefts, a sentence of imprisonment was appropriate for you and the court decided to suspended that with a number of requirements.

"You only attended the Drug Rehabilitation Requirement once. It is not unjust for me to now activate that sentence. You have not complied with the order at all - one appointment, that's it. That's virtually zero compliance."

Alanna Wesencraft, defending, said Charleston suffered with a drug problem at the time but had since gone "cold turkey" and was no longer an addict.

She added: "At the time, his life was chaotic. He found himself trapped in a cycle and found it difficult going to his appointments because other drug users would attend.

"He's 23 and he's now tackled his drug problem. He went cold turkey and did his rattle and is no longer using drugs."