A WILMSLOW man has been made subject to a night time curfew following a string of offences dating back to March last year.

Matthew Brian Rorke, 33, of Macclesfield Road, appeared at Stockport Magistrates Court on January 7 to be sentenced after pleaded guilty to three charges on October 19.

Rorke admitted stealing food, clothing and footwear worth £1200 from the Marks and Spencer store on Handforth Dean Retail Park on March 14 2020.

The light fingered thief was stopped by police in the carpark of the shopping centre as he attempted to flea the scene in a Suzuki Liana.

Unfortunately for Rorke he was also disqualified from driving, a charge he also pleaded guilty to, as well as another for driving without insurance.

In handing him a community order, Magistrates told Rorke he must wear an electronic tag for a period of 12 weeks and remain in his home between the hours of 7pm and 7am the next morning.

The curfew will end on March 31, after which Rorke must work with the Probation Service and complete 20 days of a rehabilitation requirement.

Magistrates also disqualified Rorke from the road for three months and he will not be able to drive again until he passes a driving test.

He must also pay £750 compensation to Marks and Spencer.

Cheshire Police Constable Chris Mullin said: “I welcome the sentence handed to Rorke, along with the fact that he chose to enter a guilty plea.

"During his questioning he attempted to claim that he simply ‘forgot’ to pay for the items and thought that his driving ban had expired.

“However, the evidence we gathered clearly showed that he was well aware of what he was doing.

"This was not simply one or two items, Rorke loaded his trolley with more than £1,200 worth of goods which he had no intention of paying for.

“Retail theft is not a victimless crime, and as this case demonstrates we will vigorously pursue anyone who commits retail theft in our community and ensure they are brought to justice.”