A THIEF caused more than £3,400 worth of damage breaking into a supermarket to steal chocolate Easter eggs worth just £10.

Burglar Richard Simmonds forced open the automatic front doors at Aldi in Caldicot late at night when it was closed to the public.

He got a nasty surprise when he was confronted by a brave female member of staff who was part of a team stocktaking at the store at around 11pm.

She kicked Easter eggs out of his hands after he had “stockpiled” them near the entrance, Cardiff Crown Court was told.

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“The employee saw him hiding behind them,” Amelia Pike, prosecuting, said.

“She recognised him from previous dealings with the defendant.”

Simmonds has 45 previous convictions for 103 offences, which include theft and burglary, it was revealed.

Following an “alteration” with her, the defendant fled with a paltry amount of Easter eggs.

The police were called and Simmonds was soon arrested.

The break-in was captured on the store’s CCTV cameras.

It cost Aldi £3,421.71 to repair the electric doors, Miss Pike told the court.

The defendant, aged 40, of Old School Gardens, Rogiet, Monmouthshire pleaded guilty to burglary.

The offence took place on Monday, March 18.

He was jailed for 30 weeks for burglary in February 2021.

The prosecution said the raid had been planned in advance.

Simmonds’ barrister Gareth Williams disagreed with their claim.

He argued: “He saw an opportunity and he took his chance.

“The defendant is a class A drug addict and he commits offences to feed his own habit.”

Mr Williams added in mitigation: “He had the good sense to plead guilty.”

The judge, Recorder Victoria Hillier, slammed Simmonds.

She told him: “This was mindless damage for minimal gain.”

The defendant was jailed for 13 months and told he would serve half of that time in custody before being released on licence.

He must also pay a statutory victim surcharge of £187.