A PAIR who stole more than £3,000 of alcohol as part of a three-month nationwide spree have been jailed.

Shops up and down the country – including two in north Shropshire – were targeted by Nicolae-Valentin Pintilie and Daniel Firatoiu in May, June and July, this year.

The pair stole £750 of booze from Ellesmere's Tesco store on two separate dates, while almost £400 worth was taken from Tesco in Whitchurch.

But the law finally caught up with them following their final alcohol haul worth £1,000 from a Tesco store in Norfolk.

Pintilie, 33, of Heron Mews in Ilford, Essex and Firatoiu, 34, of Forest Lane in London, appeared in Norfolk Magistrates' Court three days later on August 1.

Their charges, which all related to alcohol thefts, included £250 worth from Tesco in Ellesmere on May 19; £393 worth from Tesco in Whitchurch on the same date; £500 worth from Tesco in Ellesmere on June 7; £550 worth from Sainsbury's in Ross-on-Wye on June 16; £501 worth from Tesco in Stalham, Norfolk, on June 28; and £1,000 worth from Tesco in Stalham on July 29.

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The total value of the stolen items came to £3,194.

Magistrates decided to sentence Pintilie to one year in prison for each offence to run concurrently, while Firatoiu was sentenced to 42 weeks in prison for each offence, again to run concurrently.

They had both indicated guilty pleas to all charges.

The pair were told that the reason for the jail sentence was because the offences were "so serious," and they have stolen a "high value of goods to order in various locations".

They must also pay £156 each to victim services.