A serial thief who stole bottles of alcohol from supermarkets in Ipswich and Stowmarket has been ordered to pay the retailers compensation.

Kieran Melville-Barber, of no fixed address but of the Ipswich area, appeared before Suffolk Magistrates' Court charged with three counts of theft from a shop.

The first charge related to the taking of three bottles of Courvoisier and three bottles of Hennessy, with a total value of £211.50, being taken from Sainsbury's in Ipswich on March 23.

The second charge was for the theft of unnamed alcohol, worth £248.50, also being taken from an Ipswich Sainsbury's store - this time on April 2.

And the final charge related to the taking of five bottles of Smirnoff Vodka, to the value of £120, from Tesco in Stowmarket on April 8.

Melville-Barber, 35, pleaded guilty to all three charges and was told to pay compensation to the supermarkets for the full value of the alcohol that he stole.

No order was made for costs from the defendant and his guilty pleas were taken into account when magistrates decided on his sentence.