Shoplifter stole thousands worth of items during fortnight-long spree

A thief swiped thousands of pounds worth of items from the shelves during a shoplifting spree.

Hayden Wright targeted four different shops in Mansfield as part of a series of thefts within the space of a fortnight.

The prolific shoplifter returned to one store three times as part of a run of offending that saw him steal a range of different items on eight separate occasions.

Wright’s thieving took place between 26 June and 10 July of this year, with his first offence seeing him pocket a handful of headphones from Home Bargains, in St Peter’s Retail Park.

One trip to the shops on 2 July then saw Wright smuggle more than £1,500 worth of skin care products into a bag and out of Boots, in St Peter’s Retail Park, without being detected.

The 28-year-old then returned to the same shop the following week on 8 July, where he again stole large quantities of skin products – this time worth more than £750.

Between these two offences, Wright managed to swipe items from the shelves of three more shops – Sainsbury’s, in Nottingham Road, B&M, in Stockwell Gate, and Heron Foods, in West Gate.

After stealing five bottles of whiskey from Sainsbury’s on 2 July, he then walked out of B&M without paying for some fabric conditioner on 6 July, before also taking a bag full of food items from Heron Foods on 7 July.

The same B&M store would go on to be targeted by Wright two more times after that, with the shoplifter stealing hair products on 8 July, before then taking more than a dozen sets of headphones on 10 July too.

His crimes caught up with him shortly after that however, when police trawled through CCTV footage filmed inside the affected stores and identified Wright as a suspect.

Having pleaded guilty to eight counts of shop theft, Wright, of Lindley Street, Mansfield, appeared before Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on Tuesday (15 August).

He was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

PC Summer Watson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Wright is a prolific shoplifter who showed utter contempt for the law by repeatedly taking items that didn’t belong to him.

“In total he took more than £2,500 worth of stock during a stealing spree that lasted for around two weeks and saw him return to the same stores time and time again.

“This type of offending isn’t a victimless crime but can in fact be really damaging to communities, with the actions of shoplifters directly impacting on people’s livelihoods and causing real misery for residents.

“We clearly don’t want that to happen, so work closely with local businesses to identify those involved in shoplifting and antisocial behaviour, while we do a lot of work with our partners as well to help divert people away from this type of offending.

“I sincerely hope that Wright uses this as an opportunity to change his ways for the better going forward.”