Man jailed for stealing 200,000 Creme Eggs
Joby Pool stole a lorry in Telford and made off chocolate goods worth more than £31,000.
A thief who used a stolen lorry cab to make off with a trailer loaded with almost 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs has been jailed.
Joby Pool, whose lorry on false plates was dubbed “the Easter bunny” by West Mercia Police, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to theft and criminal damage.
The 32-year-old used a metal grinder to break into an industrial unit in Telford in February, before driving off with assorted chocolate goods worth more than £31,000.
Pool, of Dewsbury Road, Tingley, near Leeds, then drove onto the northbound M42, where he surrendered by walking towards police “with his hands up” near junction 11.
In a series of tweets posted two days after the theft, the West Mercia force said of the offence: “West Mercia Police has helped save Easter for Creme Egg fans after almost 200,000 of the chocolate treats were stolen from a unit in Stafford Park in Telford.
“The eggs-travagent theft took place on Saturday 11 February with the chocolate collection box thought to be worth around £40,000. Along with the Creme Eggs a number of other chocolate varieties were also stolen.
“Shortly after the theft a vehicle, presumably purporting to be the Easter bunny, was stopped northbound on the M42 and a man was arrested on suspicion of theft.”
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Market Drayton station replied to news the haul had been recovered, telling police “eggcellent work by all involved”.