A MAN has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after a series of burglaries and thefts in Salisbury city centre.

Sonny Marsh, age 21, of no fixed abode, was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on April 12 after pleading guilty to the offences.

On January 10, police received a report of a theft at Regents Tailoring in Salisbury.

Officers from the Community Tasking Team attended the scene following the report and obtained CCTV footage of the offender, which linked Marsh to four other thefts from shops in the city centre that day, including purses and cash boxes.

Further enquiries linked him to two more incidents at City Lodge hotel and Chapter House Hotel in December.

Working alongside officers in Hampshire Constabulary, the offender was identified as Marsh.

Officers interviewed him in prison, where he was on remand having pleaded guilty to similar offences and he was later convicted of a total of 25 burglaries and thefts in Salisbury and Hampshire.

Detective Sergeant Garry Epps, of the Community Tasking Team, said: “We have been able to put this prolific offender before the courts as a result of some really great work by officers within the CTT working alongside neighbouring forces to identify the scale of his offending.

“I am pleased that he has been given a custodial sentence – crimes of this nature can be extremely upsetting for the victims and I hope this case reassures members of the public that we will do all we can to identify offenders and ensure justice is done – and county borders will not be seen as obstacles.”