Shoplifter jailed after stealing nearly 800 Creme Eggs
He took the items from stores across the South during a four-month crime spree
A shoplifter who stole nearly 800 Cadbury’s Crème Eggs from shops across southern England has been jailed.
The confectionaries were among £3,463 worth of produce and products taken by Layton Richards from Portsmouth during a four-month crime spree between January 6th and April 18th this year.
The 29-year-old of Brownlow Close in Portsmouth targeted a total of 19 shops across Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight, including 13 Co-op stores.
Richards was jailed for eight months at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court on Friday (July 26th) after being charged with 24 shoplifting offences.
21 of these offences took place in Hampshire (in Hedge End, Portsmouth, Waterlooville, Emsworth, Liphook, Gosport and Fareham), two in Bournemouth and one in West Sussex.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s retail crime lead, Chief Inspector Marcus Cator, said:
"This sentence is just one result of an ongoing and dedicated focus on targeting our most prolific offenders as effectively as possible.
"We want to continue sending the message to repeat offenders that their behaviour, and the impact it has on its victims, is not acceptable, while also receiving any support they require to help steer them away from shoplifting.
"It is important that we continue to focus on retail crime, protecting victims and ensuring that offenders are held to account for their criminality."