A thief who stole more than £250 worth of meat and booze from two stores failed to turn up to the police station to answer his bail.

Stephen Ewens stole £200 of products from the Lidl store in Edenbridge in April and left without paying.

He then went into the Waitrose store in the town in May and stole £77 worth of booze from inside.

The 26-year-old was later arrested over the matters and then bailed, but failed to show up at Tonbridge Police Station in August.

He was later apprehended by police and Ewens, of Oak View, Edenbridge, was then charged with two counts of shoplifting and failing to surrender to custody.

He admitted all three offences when he appeared before magistrates in Sevenoaks on October 3.

Julia French, prosecuting, told the court he stole the meat from the Lidl store in Station Road, on April 24, and the alcohol from the Waitrose store in Mont St Aignan Way, on May 6.

When asked to turn up at the police station to answer bail on August 11 he failed to show, she added.

The court also heard Ewens has already admitted some other similar matters and was due back in court at Medway Magistrates’ Court to be sentenced on November 3.

As a result, the cases againt him were adjourned to tie up with the other matters and the bench ordered a pre-sentencing report to be carried out before then.

He was granted bail until he is sentenced in November.