A man was jailed after supplying detectives with stolen goods in a second-hand shop the officers set up to catch crooks.

Stanley Simons, 46, was trapped last summer when police opened the store in Brighton as part of an undercover sting operation, codenamed Kilkenny.

He helped the officers buy a stolen Georgian wine cooler worth £3,000, a Piaggio scooter fraudulently purchased with a credit card and a stolen handbag and contents.

Simons, of Walpole Terrace, Brighton, who was arrested last September, admitted three counts of handling stolen goods and was jailed for 18 months.

Marcus Fletcher, prosecuting, told Lewes Crown Court: "Two of the officers opened a shop in Gloucester Road where they purchased second-hand goods.

"There was a sign outside which read: 'We buy and sell. Cash paid. Most items considered'.

"It was from March onwards that the officers got to know the defendant Simons through various purchases."

The court heard that there was a burglary in April at a house in Barcombe, near Lewes, where a mahogany George III jardiniere or wine cooler was stolen. Simon told officers the item was available.

Mr Fletcher said: "Simons told them: 'It cannot go in the window'. The Crown say he was indicating that the item was stolen."

The officers were also pointed in the direction of a Piaggio scooter by Simons which had been bought for £1,399 on a credit card but was sold at a pub auction for just £400.

Simons, who has been convicted of 36 thefts and similar offences since 1970, was told by Recorder Ian Wilson: "You have an appalling record for matters of dishonesty."