'Prolific thief' jailed after ignoring court ban from every Sunderland city centre store

A ‘prolific thief’ banned from every Sunderland city centre store has been jailed after ignoring a court order.

Liam Ellison has been the subject of a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) since October 2022 because of his "frequent and spiralling offending".

Ellison, 35, is banned from entering any retail premises in the city centre, but decided to ignore those conditions and wandered into The Bridges Shopping Centre on Saturday, April 20.

He was immediately spotted by security staff who alerted police. Ellison was soon arrested and charged with breaching his CBO.

On Monday, April 22, he appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court and was jailed for 14 weeks.

Ellison, of no fixed abode, is the subject of the CBO until October 2025. It bars him from entering any retail premises in Sunderland city centre.

He is also banned from having “any open bottle, can, container or vessel of alcohol in a public place apart from inside a licenced premises”.

Sergeant Dave Catton of Northumbria Police leads the Sunderland Altogether Improving Lives (SAIL) partnership in the city centre. The project sees officers work with the council, businesses and other partners to combat crime.

Sgt Catton said: “Liam Ellison has been a drain on police resources for some time and has been causing misery to businesses and shoppers alike.

“The CBO that he received 18 months ago came with various strict conditions which restricted his movement and acted as a final opportunity for Ellison to clean up his act.

“However, on Saturday he ignored his CBO and entered Deichmann in The Bridges Shopping Centre. We were immediately alerted by security staff and placed him under arrest.

“Now as a result of his total disregard for the law and others, he has been jailed – and that is only possible because of the CBO, which gives courts greater powers to deal with serial offenders.

“As ever, I would like to thank our partners in SAIL and the wider public as we all work to ensure Sunderland city centre remains a safe and hassle-free environment to live, work and visit.”

Anyone who believes Ellison has breached his CBO should contact officers via the Report page of Northumbria Police’s website or by calling 101.