A HAMPSHIRE man who stole two bikes which belonged to children and had an offensive weapon in Basingstoke has been jailed. 

Stuart Johnston, 45 and of no fixed abode, was charged with possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and two counts of theft of a pedal cycle.

It comes after officers received a report that a man had an offensive weapon – a broken glass bottle – in Flaxfield Road on Saturday, November 11. 

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Meanwhile, a bicycle was stolen from the Poundland store in Festival Place after a customer, a 12-year-old boy, placed it by the entrance on Sunday, October 15.

Another bicycle, which belonged to a 13-year-old boy, was stolen from the M&S in Festival Place in similar circumstances on Tuesday, October 31.

Johnston pleaded guilty to the three offences and was jailed for a total of 20 weeks at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court on Monday, November 13.