A prolific thief with more than 80 crimes to his name was said by a judge to have "absolutely no respect" for other people's property.

Mark Scamp, of Canterbury, had only been out of jail for three months when he was caught with a "toolkit" of instruments designed for breaking into cars, as well as cloned number plates, bolt croppers, a crowbar and keys for various dumper trucks, excavators and a Land Rover.

He was arrested and later recalled to prison but the cocaine addict soon returned to old habits once free again, and has now racked up his 23rd criminal conviction.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the 38-year-old was in Epsom in Surrey on September 27, 2021, when police stopped his Ford Focus and found the extensive thieving kit.

Prosecutor Laurence Imrie said among the "tools" were a car key programming device and instruments that could be used to release various vehicles' locking mechanisms.

Scamp was arrested and gave a "no comment" interview before being found guilty by magistrates in April this year of going equipped for theft.

He had in fact been recalled to prison in May last year but was released just six weeks later when the licence period expired, and the crime spree continued.

Having notched up a further conviction for burglary and theft - which landed him with a four-month suspended sentence - he went on to steal a £500 e-scooter from a Pure Gym car park in Canterbury in February, and used a stolen bank card to purchase £67 worth of goods from a Co-op store in MInster in July.

The court heard the card had been stolen from a wallet left overnight in a car and whoever responsible had managed to break into the vehicle without causing any damage.

But Mr Imrie added there was no evidence linking Scamp, of Dickens Avenue, to the card theft.

He had, however, been captured on CCTV in April near The Range in Canterbury handing bolt croppers to another man who then used them to steal a £550 bicycle.

He was finally arrested for those three offences - theft, fraud and going equipped for theft - in August and pleaded guilty.

Scamp, who told police he "found" the bank card, also admitted breaching his suspended sentence order.

Appearing for sentencing on all five matters on Wednesday, Scamp's lawyer Phil Rowley told the court that despite his convictions for as many as 85 offences, he "does not like prison".

He explained that the defendant resorted to crime after his last release to fund his drug habit.

The court was also told that Scamp was just 12 years old when his father was murdered and may be suffering from PTSD as a consequence.

“You have an utterly dreadful, appalling, criminal record over a considerable period of time...”

But on jailing Scamp for a total of 19 months, Judge Douglas Marks Moore said he could not blame his "appalling record for petty crime" on his parent's tragic death.

"Here is a gentleman who has absolutely no respect for anybody else's property," he remarked, before telling Scamp: "You have an utterly dreadful, appalling, criminal record over a considerable period of time.

"I am sorry your father died in such a dreadful way of being murdered, and that would have had a dreadful effect.

"But the fact of the matter is that that is no excuse itself for the crimes you have committed. You may have mental health issues but that doesn't mean you should turn to crime.

"You have been to prison many times and I am told you don't like it. Well, you're not meant to like it and, if you don't stop your criminal activity, you are wasting your life."