Man jailed after goods stolen

A man has been jailed after he stole nearly £750-worth of goods from shops in Stoke-on-Trent, Stone and Stafford.

Alex Hilditch, 28, from Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to eight months behind bars at the North Staffordshire Justice Centre on Monday (9 February) after he admitted five counts of theft from a shop and two counts of breaching a criminal behaviour order (CBO).

Between 19 January and Friday 6 February, £742-worth of goods were taken from shops on Werrington Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Queensville, Stafford and Stafford Road, Stone.

Hilditch also entered a shop on Werrington Road, Stoke-on-Trent, twice on 19 January which a CBO prevented him from doing.

He was arrested by officers on #problemsolvingpolicing patrols, where officers have spent more than 13,000 hours on the beat, tackling local issues since the crackdown was launched in May last year.

When he was interviewed in custody, Hilditch answered ‘no comment’ to all questions asked, but officers worked tirelessly to gather evidence against him, which led to him pleading guilty in court only two days later.

Sergeant Adam Charlesworth, of the City Intervention Team (CIT), worked on the case. He said: “Our team work proactively to tackle issues that matter most to local people and businesses.

“Between September and December 2025, CIT dealt with around 310 incidents in Stoke-on-Trent and made 130 arrests, significantly reducing the workload of other officers and meaning that investigations move more quickly, and victims see results much faster.

“I hope this result demonstrates that we do not underestimate the impact that theft has upon local businesses, and we will take robust action against those responsible.”

To see the results of our City Intervention Team in tackling local issues, visit our website here: Business owner praises officers for ‘outstanding’ response to anti-social behaviour | Staffordshire Police