A man has been given a community order after pleading guilty to stealing £280 worth of champagne and vodka from a Marlborough supermarket.

Christopher Wayne Hosken, 45, of Dowland Grove, Bristol, appeared at Swindon Magistrates Court, pleading guilty to theft. He was given a community order and ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a £95 victim surcharge.

Two members of staff at Waitrose in the High Street had called police on the previous day after witnessing a man selecting six bottles of champagne and two bottles of vodka of alcohol.

He was seen to put the champagne in a rucksack and the vodka in his waistband, before leaving the shop without making any attempt to pay. Staff tried to stop him, but he threw the rucksack and bottles of vodka at them, and ran away. Officers found Hosken in a nearby vehicle and he was arrested.

PC Emily Grigor said: “We often see an increase in these type of offences in the build up to Christmas, I’m pleased that this case has been resolved quickly."