A man who stole a number of items from shops in Cambridgeshire, including handbags, alcohol and an electric toothbrush, has been jailed.

A court has heard how the 40-year-old man stole 18 designer handbags from TK Maxx in Cambridge in four separate occasions before threatening to bite a security guard.

William Excell, who lives in the city, went on a stealing spree from November 2018 until May this year; he stole thousands of pounds worth of goods.

Among Excell's stock were two pairs of designer sunglasses, seven bottles of fragrance, nine bottles of alcohol, a bike and an electric toothbrush.

On Sunday, April 21 Excell took a mountain bike which had been left unlocked outside of the Co-op supermarket on Chesterton Road in Cambridge.

The last time he was challenged by security staff, he threatened them with a pair of pliers and that was when he also threatened to bite them.

He was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison for each of the offences, to be served concurrently at Cambridge Magistrates' Court on Friday, June 7.

A previous 16-week suspended sentence was added, meaning he was jailed for a total of 32 weeks.

PC Grahame McLennan said: "Excell is a prolific shoplifter who stole thousands of pounds worth of items by blatantly walking into shops, picking up high value items and strolling out without paying.

"We will not tolerate threatening behaviour, such as he showed towards the security in one of these incidents.

"He demonstrated a complete lack of respect for the staff at these retail outlets."