One of Scarborough’s most prolific thieves has been jailed for an epic shoplifting spree in which he stole nearly £4,000 of goods including dozens of “high value” England football tops.

Neil Gordon, 55, went on a 10-day thieving spree in Scarborough, then turned his attention to sports stores in Leeds, where he stole £2,380 of England soccer shirts and jackets, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Thomas Harris said that Gordon’s stealing splurge began on June 11 – the day the 2026 World Cup started - when he stole 10 roast-beef joints worth about £300 from Tesco’s Scarborough branch in Westwood.

Five days later, he stole beer from Sainsbury’s Local on Ramshill Road.

By entering the store, he was in breach of a criminal-behaviour order imposed at York Magistrates’ Court in March when he was banned from the shop for three years.

On June 20, Gordon was back at Tesco, stealing more than £700 of alcohol including whisky and vodka.

The following day, when feeling a bit peckish, he stole a Magnum ice lolly and a packet of Skittles from the S&J Newsagents on Prospect Road, then stole £17 of items from an Iceland store in the town when he was arrested as he left the shop.

However, the following day he was still at large and switched his attention to major sports retailers in Leeds, namely JD Sports and Footlocker.

On the afternoon of June 22, he stole six England football shirts worth nearly £420 from the Footlocker shop in Briggate, the city’s main shopping drag.

The following day, he went back to the shop and stole six England football jackets worth £540.

Two days later, he was back at Footlocker again and stole three Okami designer jackets and three Okami T-shirts worth about £260.

The following day, he stole a further 17 England football shirts worth £1,440 from JD Sports in Briggate.

On this occasion, he was confronted and the goods were recovered from him.

Mr Harris said the total value of all the stolen items in Scarborough and Leeds came to £3,727.

Many were not recovered.

Gordon, from Scarborough but of no fixed abode, was charged with 10 counts of shoplifting and breaching a criminal-behaviour order.

He admitted the offences and appeared for sentence via a Crown Court video link today (July 21) after being remanded in custody.

Mr Harris outlined Gordon’s long criminal record comprising 226 offences, almost half of which were thefts.

He said that Gordon was on prison licence when he began the “campaign of shop theft” in June.

Defence barrister Rachel Webster said that Gordon had been “caught up in a long-standing cycle of homelessness, prison and reoffending”, the root of which was a chronic drug-and-alcohol problem.

The court heard that after beating a 23-year heroin addiction some years ago, Gordon turned to daily use of Spice, the synthetic form of cannabis known for its harmful psychoactive effects.

Judge Simon Hickey said that Gordon’s record for shoplifting was “one of the longest I have seen in a long while” and labelled him “a blight on society”.

He described Gordon’s latest shoplifting spree as “planned, targeted stealing” which included the theft of “high value” England shirts and “vast amounts” of alcohol.

He told Gordon: “Drugs and alcohol ruin lives and are certainly ruining yours.”

The judge said it was time to give shops and supermarkets some “respite” from Gordon’s pilfering by way of a “substantial” jail sentence.

Gordon was jailed for two years.