A man has been jailed after "overwhelming" evidence showed he had stolen a purse from a church along with stealing from a parked car.

Police reported this week that Joshua Walker, aged 27 of no fixed abode, had been brough before the court charged with stealing a purse with £40 inside in The Well, a café attached to Farnworth Baptist Church on Trafford Street on February 24 this year.

He also stole a silver HP laptop, cable and adaptor, Robert Cavalli perfume, a Natwest bank card, and £4 in change from a car parked in the NCP car park in Bolton town centre on March 31.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: “Due to the overwhelming evidence collected by the officers investigating these crimes, Walker pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment.”

Appearing before Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court on May 13 Walker was given an eight week prison sentence for the theft of the purse and a further four weeks in jail for stealing from the car.

Magistrates ruled that the sentences would run consecutively because of the seriousness of Walker’s offences and because he showed no sign he was going to comply with a community order.

 But his guilty plea was taken into account.