A man who was arrested after a spree of thefts was "relieved" to be arrested so he would get food.
David Seager, who has committed 243 previous offences including 167 thefts, used a local food bank but was only allowed to visit it once a month.
The 50-year-old had been caught stealing sandwiches, cheese, steaks, and ice cream from stores in Witney and Eynsham.
He was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on March 10 for five counts of theft from a shop and one count of cultivation of a cannabis plant.
He was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court
Google Street ViewThe first incident took place on August 25 last year from a Tesco Express in Eynsham, where Seager stole £100 worth of food.
A month later, he was arrested at his address in Fallowfield Crescent, Witney, they found six cannabis plants and a "very basic support system for them."
On October 2, Seager then stole £38 of food from a Tesco in Witney and then on October 25 he stole £100 of food from a Budgens store in Yarnton, reports ThisIsOxfordshire.
A few months later on February 4, he stole £14 worth of dog food from a Co-op in Witney and a few days later, on February 10, he stole £30 of sandwiches from the same store.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The first incident took place on August 25 last year from a Tesco Express in Eynsham, where Seager stole £100 worth of food
Google Street View
Defending Seager, his barrister explained his previous thefts had been to fund a drug addiction, which then turned into desperation as he was struggling to afford food and to feed his rescue dog.
They said: "[The offences] were about keeping him fed and keeping the dog fed.
"Not about raising funds to obtain heroin which influenced his previous shoplifting.
"He hopes to not shoplift at all, it’s not something he wants to do. He’s shoplifting less now."
His defence barrister described the plants as a "meagre operation" and claimed Seager had been using the Class B drugs for sciatica and arthritis pain.
Recorder Emily Formby KC handed him a 12-month prison sentence, stating: "It seems there is an awful lack of remorse."
