A man who stole designer watches worth a total of almost £40,000 from jewellers in Watford and the City of London has been sentenced to a year in prison.

Richard Daniel Wilson, 27, from Paddington, London, appeared at St Albans Crown Court on Thursday, September 15 after being found guilty of three counts of theft for identical crimes in both regions.

The first took place in London shortly after 10am on Monday, June 20, when Wilson entered a jeweller at the Royal Exchange on Threadneedle Street and posed as a customer interested in buying a watch.

While sat at the table in the shop, he asked to look at two watches, an Audemars Piquet worth £17,950 and a Rolex Daytona worth £6,750, and a shop assistant placed the watches on the display mat. The man then tried on the Audemars watch and feigned interest in both watches.

While the shop assistant was reading details of the watches from a laptop, the suspect stood up, put his finger to his mouth and said "shush” before running out of the shop towards Bishopsgate with both watches without paying.

Three weeks later, on Tuesday, July 12, Wilson entered the Goldsmiths jewellery branch in the intu shopping centre in Watford and employed the same tactics.

He entered the store and asked to try on a Rolex watch, worth £14,000. While trying it on, he commented to a staff member: “I like this, I am going to have it” and ran out of the store.

Wilson was identified and charged with theft by Hertfordshire Police officers shortly after the Watford offence.

When City of London Police officers identified him as their suspect, he was interviewed in prison and further charged with the City of London theft. In interview, Wilson refused to answer any questions put to him by officers.

At court, Wilson was ordered to serve 12 months in prison and pay a £140 victim surcharge for the Watford offence, as well as two 12-month sentences for the City thefts, all to be served concurrently.

Detective Constable Joe Farrell from the City of London Police said: “These were blatant and audacious thefts which Wilson thought he could get away with but he was proved wrong as we were able to quickly identify him as the man responsible and bring him before the courts.

“We’d like to thank all the media and members of the public who helped us identify Wilson from our public appeal, and we welcome the sentence given to Wilson today by the Judge and hope it acts as a deterrent.”

PC Chris Duncan from Hertfordshire Constabulary added: “Richard Wilson committed these offences purely for his own monetary gain with no regard for his victims or the law. This case also highlights strong cross force working and determination to catch criminals.

"The sentence passed today reflects the severity of how the court views crimes such as these. Our message is clear, if you commit fraud, you will be caught.”