This is the moment a serial shoplifter was called a ‘sausage’ by an officer chasing him on a bike.

James McMurray stole thousands of pounds worth of goods from supermarkets across Southampton.

The prolific thief is shown cycling through a red light while being pursued by police.

A newly released clip shows the officer telling the shoplifter: ‘Mate, you are going to get taken off in a minute. It’s not worth it.’

The officer then yelled: ‘You are being a sausage.’

‘You’re not getting away, I’m on a lecky,’ the policeman added, referring to a slang word for an electric bike.

McMurray, 38, was detained on Janaway Gardens after he was spotted by the officer while he was out on patrol.

He was charged with 42 counts of shoplifting as well as possession of crack cocaine and heroin.

The shoplifter was found to have stolen more than £3,000 of items from Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Co-op stores in Southampton.

He also raided a Poundland shop in Eastleigh.

McMurray pleaded guilty to all offences after appearing at Southampton Magistrates Court on Friday October 30.

He was sentenced to one year in prison and was also required to pay £85 in costs on top of a £187 victim surcharge.

British supermarkets are currently facing a surge of shoplifting incidents, with some 507,000 offences recorded in the year up to March 2026 in England and Wales.

This was the second highest figure recorded in more than 20 years, surpassed only by a record 530,000 documented incidents the previous year.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, .

MORE: Heir to lavish £50,000,000 estate punched man at wedding reception

MORE: Moment police find body of man’s mum he kept in his freezer for three years

MORE: Missing baby ‘buried alive in a dog crate’