A BURGLAR who stole more than £5,000 worth of tools and clothing has been jailed.

Stephen Wayne Slark from Butts Road in Shoreham, who has had 43 convictions, has been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.

His conviction triggered suspended sentences for further offences in 2017 and 2018, which added another year to his sentence, meaning he has been jailed for four years in total.

The 41-year-old scrap metal dealer forced entry into B&Q in Brighton Road, Shoreham at about 5am on September 30 last year.

The police attended after the alarm was triggered and found the glass panel at the front of the shop had been smashed.

They said Slark was spotted inside the building, who then ran along one of the aisles towards a fire exit.

More police attended and he was caught and arrested.

When challenged, Slark claimed to have nothing to do with the burglary, insisting he had stopped there to go to the toilet.

But when he was searched, a knuckleduster was found in his pocket.

Slark had driven to the store, despite being disqualified from driving for four years in April 2018.

On searching the vehicle, officers discovered more than £5,000 worth of power tools inside.

CCTV from the shop also showed only one person present at the time of the burglary.

Fresh blood retrieved by crime scene investigators from the point of entry was proven by DNA analysis to belong to him.

He was charged the same day with aggravated burglary and driving while disqualified, and was remanded in custody. The following day he was released by the courts with a monitoring tag to prevent reoffending.

Less than two months later, on November 24, Slark was further arrested after stealing hundreds of pounds worth of goods from the clothing shop Superdry in Brighton and for threatening security guards.

And while in custody he broke his monitoring tag.

On December 20 he pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and driving while disqualified in relation to the B&Q incident, theft in relation to the Superdry incident and a further assault he committed in July.

At Lewes Crown Court Slark was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment in total.

Detective Constable Noel Simmonds said: “The courts have repeatedly given Stephen Slark the opportunity to reform, and time after time he has thrown that compassion back in their face.”

“It is concerning that he was carrying an offensive weapon with him whilst burgling B&Q and the sentence imposed shows that the courts shared the same concern.”