A jailed burglar from Stevenage who continued offending while on bail could take until 2022 to finish paying back the cost of what he stole.

Repeat offender Wayne Hyde made off with £1,000 worth of jackets when he burgled the Van Hage Garden Centre in Great Amwell, between Ware and Hoddesdon, on August 25.

The 40-year-old then stole four bottles of fragrance, worth a total of £178, from Stevenage’s Debenhams store on September 5.

Hyde, of Carisbrooke Close in Stevenage, admitted both offences when he appeared at Hatfield Remand Court on Tuesday last week.

The bench, chaired by Madeline Marshall, sentenced him to 26 weeks behind bars – 18 weeks for the Great Amwell burglary, plus another eight for the theft in Stevenage.

The court noted that the offences were aggravated by being committed on bail, and by Hyde’s record of prior offending.

In addition to the jail term, the magistrates ordered him to pay back the full £1,000 value of the stolen jackets.

Court papers indicate that he is to pay £5 per week, starting in January 2018 – at which rate it would take until 2022 for him to pay the full amount, over 200 instalments.