A man who was linked to a burglary from a leftover receipt which he dropped at the scene has been jailed for more than three years.

Stefan Moores, 36, of Blackberry Lane, Brinnington, Stockport, was handed a 40-month sentence at Chester Crown Court on Friday 17 April.

He had previously pleaded guilty to burglary other than a dwelling.

On 18 February 2026, staff at Sainsbury’s petrol station in Caldy Valley Road, Chester, discovered the premises had been burgled overnight.

The wall had been smashed through, with metal wall plates, bricks and breezeblocks removed to gain entry. More than £11,000 worth of cigarettes were then stolen from the display unit.

Officers attended the scene and a receipt from a shop in Stockport was found in the rubble. Enquiries at the shop revealed that the individual who had bought the items had taken the shopping to the home address of Moores in a bag for life.

Moores was spotted leaving his address at 10pm on 17 February – the night of the burglary – and was carrying the same bag for life which his shopping had been dropped off in.

He was then seen returning to his address at 6am on 18 February without the bag for life.

Footwear marks found at the scene of the crime also matched footwear which was recovered from Moores’ address following his arrest.

Police Constable James Wright said:

“Moores kindly left a piece of important evidence at the scene of his crime, leading our officers straight to him.

“He committed the offence while on prison licence after being released from prison for a similar offence committed in Chester in 2023.

“I welcome the substantial custodial sentence handed to him which reflects the severity of his crime and the fact that he has clearly not learnt his lesson.

“I hope the sentence reassures the community that we are committed to tackling crimes against businesses, including burglaries, head-on.”