A MAN stole almost £700 worth of cosmetic products from a Boots store.

Owen James Sacala, 44, of Palmerston Road in Bournemouth, has been sentenced for shoplifting in relation to the incident in Ringwood.

He entered the store in Southampton Road shortly after 3pm on Wednesday, November 8 before stealing £697 of goods.

He pleaded guilty to the offence at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Friday, November 9.

Sergeant Arron Wood, of the New Milton Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “This was a really good piece of policing by one of our officers.

“He was in the store on an unrelated matter when he was told about a suspected shoplifter. He then quickly detained Sacala outside the shop.

“As I have said before, retail crime in Hampshire is one of the force’s current priorities and we will continue to support that by robustly dealing with shoplifters.

“We will always deal with these matters seriously and will make all efforts to identify offenders and bring them before the courts.”

Sacala received a £50 fine and was ordered to pay a £114 surcharge and £85 costs.

He is also now subject to a 12-month community order, with a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement, and 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement.