A GREEDY shopkeeper dubbed "a modern day Fagin" by a judge was today starting a six month jail term.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Akhtar Adad, 38, organised a team of three child thieves to steal from three rival local stores and then sold the goods on at A and B Foodstores, in St Hubert's Road, Great Harwood.

The gang, headed by a £700 a week drug addict, were helping themselves to so much of competitors' goods, the defendant was able to stop going to the cash and carry.

The children, the youngest just 12, could earn up to £100 a week.

Sentencing, Judge Raymond Bennett who had read a reference from the defendant's Great Harwood mosque, describing him as a hard-working, caring family man, said encouraging others to steal was not allowed.

He said Adad, who acted like a Fagin, must have hurt his competitors to benefit himself in the nine-month enterprise.

The judge said he would be failing in his duty if he did not send Adad to custody.

The defendant, of St Huberts Road, had earlier admitted four specimen charges of handling stolen goods between 2001 and 2002.

Jeremy Grout-Smith, prosecuting, said police searched the defendant's shop last May and found items with partial price labels from the Whiteheads store in Great Harwood on the shelves and in a storeroom.

Police then made a more thorough search of the shop premises and his home across the road and turned up another 280 items stolen from nearby shops.

Mr Grout-Smith said the defendant claimed he had bought a quantity of ex-stock items before Christmas 2001 and any stolen goods must have been in the purchase.

Officers went to speak to local criminal James Thompson, 27, known as Smackhead Jimmy, who had to steal to fund his habit. He admitted pinchingstealing goods to order for the defendant.

The court was told the child thieves were aged 15, 13 and 12.

Bob Sastry, defending, said the offences were very, very serious, went on for almost a year and Adad knew he faced the possible loss of his liberty.