A 19-year-old man has been jailed after stealing four charity boxes from a social club.

Francis Foord, of Cliff View Gardens in Warden, was sentenced to one year in prison after appearing before Medway magistrates.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary, five counts of shoplifting and two counts of attempted shoplifting. He also admitted one count of aggravated vehicle taking and one count of possession of cannabis.

Officers arrested Foord in the early hours of Wednesday after the Co-operative Sports and Social Club in St George’s Avenue, Sheerness, was broken into and four charity boxes and alcohol was stolen.

Police were called to the club after an intruder alarm was set off at around 4.50am and when officers arrived Foord was seen in the car park of the club, where he made off before being found and arrested.

The court heard how earlier that day, he had also stolen alcohol worth £57 from a supermarket in Bridge Road, Sheerness.

Between Monday, August 29 and Wednesday, August 31, Foord also burgled a chalet at a holiday park in Warden Bay Road, Sheerness, and stole a car key and between Tuesday, August 30 and Wednesday, August 31, using the key, he stole a Ford Fiesta in Leysdown which was later crashed causing damage.

Magistrates also heard that on Friday, July 22 Foord stole ten cans of lager from a supermarket in Canterbury Road, Sittingbourne. He also attempted to steal food items from a shop in Church Road, Murston.

On Saturday, July 23 Foord attempted to steal items from the same supermarket in Canterbury Road and then on Thursday, July 28 he stole a bottle of red wine from the same supermarket and a bottle of whiskey from a supermarket in Mill Way, Sittingbourne.

The court also heard that on Tuesday, August 2, Foord was found with 0.7g of cannabis on him in Gillingham and on Monday, August 8 he stole various items from a supermarket in Cuxton Road, Strood.

Foord was sentenced to 12 months in prison and ordered to pay £200 compensation to each of the four charities that he stole from.

Investigating officer, PC Mike Wills, said: "A person cannot get much lower than stealing from charity and the fact that Foord stole four charity boxes without care or worry, shows the level he was happy to stoop to get what he wanted.

"He committed various crimes and was clearly on a downward spiral and I hope his sentence is a deterrent to those who may be on a similar criminal path. We will not tolerate crime and will catch those responsible."