A WINCHESTER man has been sentenced to three months in jail for burgling a sixth form college in the city.

A court heard that Andrew Pepper, 49, of Parchment Street, stole a pink elephant NSPCC charity box and other items from the Peter Symonds College shop on March 21.

District judge Stephen Apted said Pepper showed a "flagrant disregard for people and their property," specifying that "the offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified".

Pepper pleaded guilty to stealing the charity box, as well as an empty till box, deodorants and batteries. The total value of all the stolen items came to £20.35.

This is not the defendant's first offence. In 2017, he was ordered to get treatment for his drug dependency after threatening violence in Winchester.

In 2011 Pepper was handed five years in prison after stealing thousands of pounds' worth of cigarettes from various shops in Hampshire.