A man has been ordered to pay back nearly £900 after a string of thefts from city shops this year.

Martyn Dawson, of Trafalgar Street in Lakenham, pleaded guilty and was sentenced at Norwich Magistrates Court for stealing more than £600 worth of items.

Collette Harper, prosecuting on Friday, said Dawson was identified on CCTV stealing £284.92 worth of Champagne from Waitrose in Eaton with three others at around 7.30pm on April 29, however the 36-year-old was the only one stopped.

Martyn Dawson pleaded guilty to stealing champagne from Waitrose in Church Lane in AprilMartyn Dawson pleaded guilty to stealing champagne from Waitrose in Church Lane in April (Image: PA Media)

There were also four other "taken into consideration" (TIC) cases - prior to the Waitrose incident - brought up during the sentencing which Dawson also admitted to.

He stole £150 worth of items from TK Maxx, £320 worth of items from Somerfield Stores in Earlham Road and £139.99 worth of items from Sally's Salon Services, in Barn Road.

Dawson also stole an unspecified amount of items, from an unidentified Cooperative store, but these items were retrieved. 

READ MORE: Man accused of crashing into city business and drink driving enters no plea in court

Gillian Philpott, chairwoman of the bench, ordered Dawson to pay back 25pc of the total amount from the Waitrose theft - £71.23 - as well as the full value of what he'd stolen from the other shops.

The main case was Dawson stealing £284.92 worth of champagne from Waitrose, in Church Lane, with three othersThe main case was Dawson stealing £284.92 worth of champagne from Waitrose, in Eaton, with three others (Image: Google Maps)

He was also fined £200 - taking the total to £881.22.

READ MORE: Dog adoption row led to woman lashing out at police after drink drive arrest

A statement read out in mitigation for Dawson, from police staff at the dedicated TIC unit which approached Dawson in early June, said: "During his time spent with officers he was calm and keen to put right some of the wrongs during this period of offending.

"Mr Dawson expressed remorse for his actions and claimed his offending was largely down to alcohol addiction.

"He is also engaging with Change Grow Live (CGL) and is motivated to take positive steps to make sure he doesn’t offend again through alcohol use."

Martyn Dawson was ordered to pay back a total of £881.22 for the string of theftsMartyn Dawson was ordered to pay back a total of £881.22 for the string of thefts (Image: Newsquest)