A MAN has been banned from entering areas of Southampton after admitting to thefts.

Ryan Harvey, 25, from Southampton Street pleaded guilty to a number of offences committed earlier this year including shoplifting and the attempted theft of a pedal cycle.

Appearing at Southampton Magistrates' Court on Monday, he was given a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order.

The aim of the order is to tackle the most serious and persistent offenders and stop them from committing further criminal offences and anti-social behaviour.

As a result, Harvey is now banned from entering a number of city centre locations for the next two years.

These include Above Bar, High Street, London Road up until Bellevue Road, West Quay, West Quay Retail Park, Queensway and Bargate.

On March 23, Harvey also pleaded guilty to multiple other offences and was sentenced to 20 weeks imprisonment at Southampton Magistrates’ Court:

The offences were:

  • Theft from Next in WestQuay shopping centre on December 24, 2020

• Theft from Ryman’s on London Road on December 21, 2020

• Attempted theft of a pedal cycle on London Road on December 12, 2020

Harvey was also sentenced on Monday to 26 weeks imprisonment for one charge of handling stolen goods and two charges of fraud by representation.

This came after an incident on July 30 where he used a stolen card to purchase items from a store in St Marys.

Police Staff Investigator Sarah Stewart from Southampton’s Operation Hawk team said “This is a great result for the local community and businesses in the area.

“Harvey is a persistent offender and thanks to some great work by officers from Southampton’s Operation Hawk team, supported by Southampton Central’s Neighbourhood policing team, we were able to obtain the evidence required to bring him before the court and make a strong application for a Criminal Behaviour Order to exclude him from a number of areas and prevent further offending.

“We hope this sentence reassures our local communities and businesses that we take shoplifting and theft seriously and will seek to use every available option to stop further offending and make our city a safer and pleasant place for everyone to live, work and visit.”