A Romanian man has been spared prison over a shoplifting spree where he stole around £5,000 of items from Tesco stores across Powys in one day.

Alexandru-Remus Constantine, 37, claimed he stole from the supermarkets in Llandrindod Wells, Welshpool and Newtown on Saturday, July 27, because he and his wife were having financial pressures when work in Wales didn't materialise.

The unemployed dad was given a suspended prison sentence after admitting three charges of theft from the supermarket giant.

Prosecutor James Ashton told Welshpool Magistrates' Court that police received reports from Llandrindod Tesco staff about a man filling bags for life with £3,096 worth of razors, pregnancy tests, Olay skincare products, medication, bedding and other items.

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Later that day, the Tesco superstore in Welshpool told police a woman was "distracting other people" while a man filled a trolley with razors, skincare products, electric toothbrushes and other items worth about £2,000.

CCTV from Newtown Tesco then showed Constantine taking health and beauty products worth £796.

Police found items in a vehicle linked to Constantine the next day, but couldn't confirm whether they came from the stores.

Mr Ashton added: "The defendant was of previous good character and now, of course, he’s lost that.

"Although not sophisticated with emptying shelves and walking out of the store, but it was certainly planned."

Gurleen Kaur, representing Constantine, told the court: "This unfortunate incident happened due to financial difficulties and his wife.

"They felt so under pressure due to their position that they took this risk. They will now be bearing the consequences of this risk."

She said they have two young children in Romania, and moved to the UK to get work and support them financially. They couldn't find work, and felt they had "no other option" than the thefts, she added.

"The defendant has been residing with his uncle who he is grateful to for putting him up but he doesn’t have any money to his name," Ms Kaur said.

A pre-sentence report from probation officer Julian Davies heard that the dad-of-two was "extremely sorry".

He said: "Mr Constantine tells me he came to Wales with his wife to visit a childhood friend who he said could find him some work in the area. This work didn’t materialise, and he went to the first Tesco store.

"It was not with the intention of stealing however when he got away with the first theft, he said he continued to do so."

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Mr Davies shared that Constantine came to the UK two months ago and managed to find a job as a hairstylist which lasted a few days. He has been cutting his uncle's friends' hair, he added.

"He’s assessed as being low risk of reoffending, low risk of serious harm and has no previous cautions or convictions against him," Mr Davies said.

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Sarah Sargent, chair of the magistrates' bench told Constantine, of Ottershaw, Chertsey, Surrey, that the charges were "so serious" that they were imposing a 14-week jail sentence, but suspending it for 12 months.

"We’re making this order because the offences and amounts involved means that custody is the only suitable solution," Mrs Sargent said.

"We are aware of your financial situation and that basically means you have no income. We are therefore not awarding compensation or costs but there is a government victim surcharge of £154."