A MAN described as the 'legman' for a shoplifting gang which targeted shops in a Scots town has been jailed for six months.

Thomas Shearer was part of a team, which included a member of a well known Glasgow crime clan, that stole almost 20 dresses, top and tunics worth £1920 from Monsoon in Stirling.

He was caught after police viewed CCTV of the heist, committed back in July 2011.

Sheriff William Gilchrist, sentencing him yesterday, said he had maintained his innocence for "quite a long time" before finally admitting his role.

Stirling Sheriff Court heard Shearer, 34, Annette Daniel, 51, the sister of Glasgow scrapyard owner Jamie Daniel, and Roberta Burke, 50, were arrested after the CCTV footage was checked by police. Staff at Monsoon became suspicious after noticing that "large gaps" had appeared on rails.

Daniel, Burke and Shearer were spotted in the shop picking up items, moving them to parts of the shop that were not covered by CCTV, and returning with the items no longer in their hands, the court heard.

Prosecutor Dana Forbes said: "Shearer was see coming into the shop on more than one occasion carrying shopping bags from other stores, which were emptier when he came in than when he left. It was only later when the CCTV was interrogated that suspicious activity was noticed."

Burke, of Mount Florida, Glasgow, was jailed for six months last year. Shearer, of Easterhouse, Glasgow, was sentenced after his earlier failure to turn up in court.

Daniel was jailed for six months in 2011.