A repeat thief who committed a burglary at a church has been banned from Stroud town centre after police secured a criminal behaviour order (CBO) against him.

Matthew Cainey, 46, was charged after blood found at the scene of the burglary at Stroud Spiritualist Church, Lansdown was forensically matched to him.

He was alleged to have stolen cash, a stereo system, speakers and various food and drink between January 30 and February 3 this year.

Cainey, of London Road, was also charged with theft from a shop in Merrywalks Shopping Centre on February, 11 and possession of a class B drug, namely cannabis, on February 22 in Stroud.

On Wednesday, February 27 Cainey was given a three-year CBO which removes his right to go into the town centre, save to go to Lloyds Pharmacy. He's also not allowed to enter any branch of Waitrose in Gloucestershire or any Stroud or Gloucester City Safe Retailers.

Officer in the case, Stroud Neighbourhood team PC Justin Gay said: “This case shows the force will be persistent with ongoing offending and this is another example of a successful result in the Stroud area where we will continue to obtain further CBOs.”

Stroud Inspector Sarah Blake said: "Committing a burglary at a church is an offence which understandably causes upset to a lot of people.

"Thanks to the hard work of the neighbourhood team and local investigation team we managed to secure a CBO against Cainey which bans him from the town centre for the next three years. If you see Cainey in an area he is not allowed to be, please do call police as this is an arrestable offence.

"Burglaries and thefts from shops can cause a huge financial loss and have an emotional impact on those who are victims. We hope this CBO goes to show how seriously we take this type of crime and that we will do everything we can to try and protect our community and local businesses."

Cainey was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months and to pay £300 compensation and £115 victim surcharge in connection with the church burglary. No separate penalty was given for the other offences.