A SERIAL Stourbridge criminal with an “appalling” record has been jailed for 22 months for stealing from stores across the Dudley area.

Jason Pettit, who has 119 previous convictions on his record, also broke into a Stourbridge garage twice in a matter of days taking fuel, wheels and tyres - Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

The 36-year-old drug addict, from Stourbridge Road, Lye, took a satnav from a parked car at Merry Hill shopping centre, meat from a Wollaston store and a car parked outside a garage in Lye.

He also walked out of another shop at Merry Hill with a vacuum cleaner under his arm - Neil Ahujla, prosecuting, said.

Pettit, he told the court, was caught in a number of cases on CCTV and quickly recognised by investigating police officers.

And when he ran off after being spotted with the stolen vehicle police found a drink canister near the console that carried his DNA.

Pettit also raided the garage in Stourbridge and in his two illegal visits he got away with containers of red diesel, six tyres and wheels worth £540.

Judge Amjad Nawaz said: "This was a wave of offending."

He said Pettit had “an appalling record stretching back a number of years" and told him: “Your offending just goes on unabated. This was a catalogue of offending for monetary gain at a time when you were in the throes of your drug addiction. You just cannot stop helping yourself to property belonging to other people. You are a prolific offender.”

Pettit admitted two charges of burglary and five of theft - and Simon Hanns, defending, said it was clear his client had a “persistent” problem with drugs.

He told the court all the offences were committed by Pettit so he could get money to fuel his drug addiction.