A BUSINESS owner has had to spend a four-figure sum after a man once described as a “one-man crime wave” broke into his hairdressers and stole £45.

Simon Amey who co-owns Eaton Spencer hairdressers in Junction Road, Andover, has said the sentence of prolific offender Lee Stewart James, pictured, was “not enough at all”.

James, of Romney Road, was jailed at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on May 18 after he went on a crime spree over the course of three days.

On May 10 the 41-year-old forced open one door and smashed another to get at the hairdressers’ petty cash tin.

Mr Amey, who owns the business with Scott Grainger, has now had to fork out for new security cameras and doors.

“It is an intrusion and a violation to our privacy and our property,” Mr Grainger said.

“There was damage to the two doors and which we have had to patch up and we are in the process of getting prices for them.

“For the sake of £45 it is going to cost us around £1,000 as the insurance is not going to cover us for replacement doors.”

Mr Amey added that the situation “could have been worse” but he said that James’ sentence is “such a small amount for the damage he has caused”.

On the same day James also broke into The Lights theatre and the court heard that he did so with the intention to steal from the venue, though he did not make off with any items.

Magistrates were also told that before the break-ins James stole a salmon worth £15 from a Co-op store in Andover on May 7.

James admitted to the offences at the hearing and was sent to prison for 44 weeks, with magistrates saying that the crimes were so serious that they warranted jail time.

They added that he had failed to respond to previous sentences handed to him by the court.

James was described as a “one-man crimewave” when he was jailed for an array of offences in 2016.