A THIEF who stole more than £170 worth of perfume from a department store in Golden Square Shopping Centre has been spared jail.

Peter Hogan, of Lovely Lane, walked out of Debenhams on October 12 without paying for perfume valued at £97.50.

The 38-year-old returned five days later and again stole more perfume, this time to the value of £74.

After being caught, Hogan was hauled before Warrington Magistrates Court on Tuesday, which heard of his ‘horrendous record of acquisitive offending’.

But his solicitor, Gary Heaven, spoke of how his client is now 'scripted' for drugs and has stable accommodation.

Chair magistrate Timothy Mullins ruled that the offences could not be dealt with by anything other than a custodial sentence as they were ‘so serious’.

But he gave the defendant ‘one final chance’ to comply with a suspended sentence and post-sentence supervision order.

Taking the two guilty pleas into account, Mr Mullins sentenced Hogan to 12 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months and fined him £275.50.