A man has admitted to stealing from cars following reports that attempts had been made to access vehicles.

William Box, 33 of Hutchingson Close in Tiptree pleaded guilty to four counts of theft from a motor vehicle, two counts of vehicle interference, attempted theft from a motor vehicle, going equipped for theft and possession of a Class B drug.

He was arrested on Monday July 6 and charged appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on Tuesday , July 7 where he admitted all nine offences.

Officers from Colchester's community policing team launched an investigation following reports that small change has been stolen from a number of cars and attempts had been made to gain access to some vehicles.

As part of the investigation, officers undertook patrols both in uniform and in plain clothes.

William was sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work in the community, ordered to pay £227 in costs and given an eight week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

PC Nicholas Pulham from the Colchester Community Policing team, led the investigation and said: "William Box has been causing problems in the Tiptree community for some time, so we are pleased to have been able to ensure he has been held accountable for his actions.

"We need to know if there are any community issues, so that we can work with our partners to resolve these concerns.

"We urge anyone who has been a victim of crime to report it to us so that we can take action against criminal activity and help keep people safe."