Perfume thief jailed again

A MAN who stole perfume from an Andover department store whilst on licence has been sent back to prison.

Jake Timothy Collingwood Hughes stole fragrance from the town branch of TK Maxx on two separate occasions last month.

He was caught stealing £160 of perfume from the Churchill Retail Park store on July 7, before returning on July 28 to shoplift £150 of perfume on July 28.

At the time of the offences, he had been released on licence from prison having stolen a range of items from Boots in Andover in April.

Appearing before Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court last Saturday (July 31), the 30-year-old was jailed for eight weeks, with magistrates saying they had little option because he was recalled on licence.

Hughes, of The Hexagon, must pay £128 as a victim surcharge, with a 5 year criminal behaviour order made.

This bans him from abusing or threatening any person in any retail premises in Andover, or entering the Andover branches of Boots, Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-Op, Wilkinsons, Poundland or TK Maxx.

Spit denial

A WEYHILL man has denied spitting at someone’s front door during the Covid pandemic.

Eric Ryan Jones, of Beech Close in the village, has pleaded not guilty to harassing a man in the town this year.

The charge, which refers to the period between April 20 and July 29, claims that the 24-year-old harassed the claimant, and on multiple occasions spat on his front door “causing him undue distress”.

He pleaded not guilty when appearing before Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court last week.

Jones has been released on conditional bail pending the trial at Aldershot Magistrates’ Court on March 18, 2022; he must not contact the claimant, enter Bell Road and must live and sleep at his listed address.

Drug driving charge

A WEYHILL man has been accused of drug driving in Basingstoke.

Todd Benjamin Parker was behind the wheel of a 2013-plate Mercedes when he allegedly had Benzoylecgonine, a breakdown product of cocaine, in his system.

The 30-year-old is said to have been driving on Winchester Road on February 20 when the offence happened.

Parker, of Rectory Place, has been released on unconditional bail, pending the next hearing in his case, which will be held on March 9, 2022 at Aldershot Magistrates’ Court.

Two charged

TWO people have been charged after allegedly attempting to steal scrap metal earlier this year.

Nicholas Hobbs and Brian Thomas Saville, both from Loughton in Essex, have been charged with attempted theft.

It relates to a break-in at the Enviro Park, just off the A303 near Barton Stacey, on April 21.

Hobbs, 59 of Colson Road and Saville, 53 of Collard Avenue, will appear before Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on August 19.

At the time, police said they had caught two men breaking into an industrial building.

Police were called to the scene at 10.39pm on Wednesday (April 21), and arrested two men on suspicion of burglary.

They were both released on bail at the time.

The Enviro Park is home to a variety of industries, including those which separate recyclable materials from household waste in order to reuse them.