A THIEF has been jailed after being caught thanks to brave members of the public.
Nicholas English, of Fairoak Lane, Leatherhead, was arrested after robbing Budgens, in East Horsley, when a member of the public stopped him driving off by snatching his car keys.
English assaulted the man but failed to get his keys back, and when he fled to the local train station, he was brought back by other members of the public.
The 31-year-old was sentenced to 48 weeks in prison after pleading guilty to snatching money from tills at three shops.
Detective constable Charlie Lourenco, of Sutton CID, said: "The investigating officers from the Met Police and Surrey are pleased to have brought to justice a man responsible for a number of crimes.
"Shops and commercial premises are often the target of opportunist criminals and we are pleased to be able to reassure local communities that this man will be in prison for some time."
When he was caught, English offered to give Budgens their money back if the man would return his keys, but the man refused and the police were called. English then spat in an officer's face during his arrest.
Guildford Crown Court heard English would go into shops, often wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, and pretend to pay for a low-value item before reaching over and grabbing for bank notes once the till was open.
He was convicted and sentenced on November 16, and was told the 90 days he had already spent on remand would count towards his sentence.
The offences all took place over the summer and English was eventually caught on August 16.
He pleaded guilty to three thefts totalling £540 from stores in Cobham, Weybridge and Horsley.
A further eight thefts were "taken into consideration", meaning English admitted responsibility to prevent future prosecutions against him.
These offences took place in Ripley, Esher, West Molesey and New Malden, as well as Iceland, KFC and Martins in Worcester Park, and at Tesco in North Cheam, with a total value of £991.
