A THIEF fled with perfume worth more than £7,500 after hurling a stone through a department store window.

Bolton Crown Court heard how Paul Vail used two suitcases from a display at Beales on Deansgate to carry off the stolen scent.

He was sentenced to 13 months in jail for the burglary as well as three other shoplifting offences and breaching court orders.

Neil Ronan, prosecuting, told the court how Vail was caught on CCTV throwing the stone through the Beales’ window at 4.30am on July 13.

After grabbing two suitcases, worth £128, he loaded them with the scent, valued at £7,598 and ran off towards Hargreaves House.

The court heard that the goods have never been recovered and the total cost in damage and loss amounts to £10,000.

Vail, aged 42, pleaded guilty to the burglary and to shoplifting.

Mr Ronan said security staff at Tesco on June 10 spotted Vail on CCTV at 2.15pm. He had selected four bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey from a shelf and was trying to remove security tags from them with his teeth.

He was arrested after leaving the store with the alcohol in his bag.

Then, on July 12, the court heard how he stole two bottles of aftershave, worth £40, from Boots in Bolton town centre at 9.40am, followed an hour later by the attempted theft of a DVD player, valued at £120 from Sainsburys.

At the time Vail, of Parkinson Street, Bolton, was subject to a court order banning him from entering any retail premises in Bolton centre. He has 78 previous convictions for 170 crimes.

Amanda Johnson, defending, said when he committed the most recent offences the father-of three’s disability benefits had been stopped after he missed a medical assessment appointment.

“He was in financial difficulties and desperate,” she said, adding that he was taking diazapam as well as prescription medication.

Sentencing Vail to 13 months in prison, Judge Stead commented: “His overall record of offending is atrocious.”