A shameless thief who boasted 'No face, no case!' to police after disguising himself with a balaclava, two hats, two coats and rubber gloves has been jailed - after officers matched his clothing to CCTV of previous thefts.

Perry Stanley, 33, wore the items in the hope of escaping detection after officers mounted a operation to catch a masked thief who sneaked onto school grounds to steal pupils' bicycles.

Stanley was arrested after police caught him loitering outside St Gregory’s Catholic High School in Warrington, Cheshire and peering through bushes. 

But he goaded officers before claiming he was not the thief - and that his clothing was a high street 'fashion' worn by anyone.

Stanley was nevertheless charged after police matched his outfit to CCTV of an offender involved in previous bike thefts at the same school. 

Further inquiries revealed Stanley had 53 previous offences on his record including similar bike thefts, fraud and shoplifting matters - in several of which he was caught on camera without any disguise.

A court heard on the day of one of the bikes went missing, he had just been given a suspended prison sentence for stealing another bicycle using an angle grinder.

At Warrington magistrates court, Stanley, of Widnes, was convicted of two charges of theft and one charge of going equipped for theft.

Accusing him of having 'repeatedly exploited' the 'vulnerability' of schoolchildren whose bikes were left unattended during lessons, a judge jailed him for 42 weeks and ordered him to pay £1,000 in compensation. 

Stanley was cleared of a fourth charge of theft.

The police operation began in March after staff at two schools reported the thefts of bikes from pupils worth between £350 and £1,300.

Gayle McCoubrey, prosecuting, said: 'A male was sighted on CCTV forcibly removing a bike on the bike rack at Great Sankey High School. 

'He used an implement removed from his pocket.

'Later at St Gregory’s Catholic High School a male was was sighted on CCTV removing a bike with £350 from the secure rack, lifting it over railings before cycling it away. 

'On a different occasion a male entered the secure play area of the school, stole a bike, throwing it over the fence, climbing over the fence and cycling away.

She said Stanley was stopped outside Saint Gregory’s High School on March 20 where he was looking through bushes with his face covered and wearing clothing matching the suspect.

But he denied being the thief, saying it was 'just a coincidence' that his outfit matched, the prosecutor said.

'He said multiple people buy those clothes.'

Giving evidence, a PC Barlow said she and a colleague had been patrolling a footpath when they saw Stanley.

'We saw an unknown male wearing similar clothes to the previous theft near the subway area,' she said.

'We followed the person to the bush area adjacent to the school. He was looking through the bushes. 

'Mr Stanley was wearing a balaclava or a face covering, a hooded top, padded jacket, gloves and two hats. 

'It was quite a hot day and I remember having to carry apparatus in my hand as it was so hot I was unable to wear a jacket.'

He was arrested as his pattern of behaviour and description both matched the previous bike thefts. 

But on being detained, the court heard Stanley replied: ‘No face, no case.'

Photos were shown to the court of Stanley’s clothes, including a Berghaus bubble jacket with a distinctive logo on the front. 

Video was also played showing a man in identical clothing stealing a bike from one of the schools.

Giving evidence, Stanley insisted the clothes he was wearing were 'fashionable' and so could have been worn by anybody.

He denied it was him on the footage. 

'Sometimes I wear the same clothes for three or four days,' he told the court. 

'It is today’s fashion. You cannot see my face on the CCTV. 

'Yes, I have had a bad past but on this occasion it was not me.'

When asked why he was loitering outside the school he answered: 'I stashed my cannabis in the bushes and I was there to collect it.'

But finding him guilty, District Judge Ian Barnes said Stanley had been wearing clothing which 'appeared to be unusual for the weather' and matched that worn by the suspect in the previous thefts. 

He pointed out that Stanley's response of 'No face, no case’ was made 'even before he was told the nature of the offence'.

'That indicated the clear knowledge the offender’s face was obscured,' he added. 

'I couple that with the fact that he has twice been involved in the theft of cycles and one previous conviction has been indicated for going equipped for theft.'

As a result, Stanley's denials were 'not credible', he concluded.

Sentencing him, the judge added: 'You targeted high value bikes and targeted school premises. 

'No doubt you knew that they likely belonged to school pupils.

'You had obviously determined that the school was vulnerable and you repeatedly exploited that vulnerability.

'This loss to young people is not just the value of the loss, it is often a loss to their identity.'