A THIEF harassed a woman he was banned from contacting and then stole her stomach peg and meal replacement shakes.

Daniel Barclay was given a suspended prison sentence last year for having a knife and damaging the front door of a woman in Basildon on July 12.

At the time a restraining order banned him from contacting the woman or going to her address - but the 37-year-old ignored this.

He then ignored the suspended sentence order to harass the woman again on January 3 this year by going to her home again.

During this confrontation, Barclay, of Aster Close, Basildon, stole a stomach peg - a feeding tube placed through the abdominal wall and stomach - and meal replacement shakes worth £390.

Barclay was arrested soon after the incident and was charged with harassment, theft and breach of a suspended sentence.

He appeared at Basildon Magistrates' Court on March 15 for sentence.

The magistrates bench felt there was no option but to send Barclay to prison for 26 weeks.

The bench said Barclay had committed "persistent and wilful breaches" of his restraining order, and that it caused "serious distress" to the victim who had had to move her family home to get away from him.