A teenage milk thief has been forced to pay for the bottles he stole from homes in West Sussex.

The 17-year-old from Bognor stole eight bottles of milk from outside homes in Grosvenor Road, Belgrave Crescent and Stockbridge Road in Chichester.

The thefts in January and February affected a number of local residents who regularly have their milk delivered by the local dairy, which also lost money when the milk was stolen.

Each theft was reported to police and investigated by a local officer.

Officers tracked down the thief who made a full admission in April and has been dealt with by Community Resolution.

He paid the dairy £43.32 earlier this month for the for the amount of milk he stole and has written letters to all those affected.

PC David Lyons, the officer in charge of this investigation, said: "This type of crime seems minor to some members of the community but if you are having your milk stolen on a regular basis, not only is it an inconvenience but it also has cost implications.

"Thankfully on this occasion we were able to catch the culprit.

"We ask that residents call us and let us know what is happening in their local areas so that we can act and do what we can to help."