A PROLFIC thief has been remanded in prison until Monday, 5 October when he is due to face trial at Basildon Crown Court.

Zach McCarthy, 30, whose last address was given as Tennyson Walk, Tilbury – the home of his mother – appeared at the court by video link from HMP Chelmsford today (Tuesday, 19 May) where he pleaded guilty to a litany of charges of theft of vehicles, cycles from a local school and a number of charges of stealing from Tilbury stores. He also admitted fraudulently using a bank card.

In total McCarthy admitted 14 charges, some of which dated back to 2023 -, including a burglary in Brennan Road, Tilbury.

He pleaded not guilty to three offences, fraud including another bank card, burglary at a home in Grays and stealing a key. He will be tried for those offences in October, with judge Samantha Cohen setting aside a possible three days for the hearing.

Originally Thurrock Police, who released details of their operation to arrest and charge McCarthy last month, has anticipated him appearing before magistrates but the severity and number of his offences meant it was elevated to Crown Court.

The guilty pleas are also now likely to be considered by Thurrock Council, which had stripped McCarthy of his tenancy of a flat in Orsett, a decision which was then overturned by Assistant Director Mike Dineen – much to the consternation of residents in Orsett, where McCarthy's flat in Phillips House has been a constant source of local irritation and is currently boarded up,

Now McCarthy's anti-social behaviour and criminality have been recognised in court, with the number of his guilty pleas, residents in the village hope the decision to give him the flat back will be reversed and the home restored and put to use.