A prolific shoplifter who has racked up 100 crimes has been banned from a large area of Leicester city centre for two years.
Steven James Harries (37) faces arrest if he breaches the anti-social behaviour order, which police hope will bring his years of stealing to an end.
The order came into effect recently when Harries, who is of no fixed address but has previously lived in Leicester and Melton, was released from prison.
The order means he faces arrest if caught in a clearly-defined area of the city centre.
He is also banned from several shops outside that area from which he has stolen in the past.
Yesterday, police began putting up posters – which carry a photograph of Harries and the terms of the order – across the city centre.
Pc Nick Golden said: "Steven Harries is a habitual thief who commits crime to fund a drug habit.
"This order has been put in place to deter his offending and I encourage anyone who sees Harries breaching this order to contact the police."
One city centre shop assistant said: "He is a well-known thief and a lot of the shops shoo him away as soon as they see him coming in.
"He's not as aggressive as some of the thieves we have to deal with, but he's a pest and he definitely deserves this ban. He's been a known thief for a few years now and hopefully he'll see this as an opportunity to sort his life out."
Another city shop worker said: "We all deserve a break from him and people like him.
"The public needs to think how much shoplifting affects smaller shops.
"The bigger stores lose a lot of stock to thieves but they can absorb those losses.
"Smaller businesses like ourselves just can't do that, and we really do feel the cost of people such as this man."
The order was granted at Leicester Magistrates' Court in November, when Harries was sentenced to six months in prison for six offences of theft.
He is banned from the area of the city centre bordered by Belgrave Gate, Gallowtree Gate, Halford Street, Free Lane and Charles Street, which includes the Haymarket shopping centre.
The order also bars him from entering Sainsbury's in Western Boulevard, West End, the Co-Op and Wilkinson in Narborough Road and any Tesco Express store within the A594 inner ring road.
The order runs until March 6, 2015.
Police have urged members of the public to call city centre police on 101 if they see Harries breaching the order.
