A thief who stole more than £4,400 worth of glasses from Specsavers in Chapel Market has been jailed for 11 months.

Sami Anka, of St Thomas Street, Southwark, raided the opticians five times in the 12 months leading up to February, making off with 35 pairs in total.

At Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday last week, the 39-year-old admitted carrying out the thefts while on conditional discharge for a 2015 offence.

At an earlier hearing he had been banned from all Specsavers stores in England or Wales until the end of the case.

His biggest haul came on January 3 when he nicked 13 pairs of spectacles.

A member of staff told the Gazette: “He was coming in during busy times of the day and basically taking them then running off.

“It was on CCTV. Police had his profile and they just waited to catch him.”

He was jailed for a total of 11 months.