A prolific shoplifter from Knaphill is potentially one theft away from prison after stealing around £2,000 of stock from convenience stores and supermarkets around Woking and Chertsey.

Levi Tews was given a two-month suspended sentence early this month after admitting to nearly 20 counts of theft between January and June this year.

The 34-year-old of Barton Close also admitted to one count of common assault and breaking bail conditions when he was sentenced on June 17.

Staines Magistrates Court heard that Tews was repeatedly caught stealing from the Knaphill Co-op and Brookwood Sainsbury’s during a prolific six-month period.

His thefts ranged in value from £12.20 to over £200 with food, drink, clothes, cleaning items, alcohol, medication, and detergent among the items stolen.

The court also heard that Tews assaulted a security guard at Sainsbury’s on February 17 before stealing twice from the same store just two days later.

He was also arrested on June 3 for breaking a bail condition as he once again targeted Sainsbury’s Brookwood in contravention of a ruling made by Guildford Magistrates Court the month before.

The court heart, in mitigation, that Tews has drug issues while his limited means and multiple guilty pleas were taken into consideration by the court.

But because the bench considered his offending to be so serious they agreed to a two-month suspended sentence in prison. The order, suspended for two months, means that Tews will be sent to prison if he re-offends.

He was also ordered to take part in a drug-rehabilitation programme and a further rehabilitation activity.

Tews was previously in court on May 1 as the defendant, then of no fixed abode, admitted to ten counts of thefts from stores around Woking and South West Surrey between November 2025 and early April.