Prolific thief who stole Easter eggs banned from Nottinghamshire supermarkets

Nottinghamshire Police have secured a court order to protect businesses and the public from a prolific shop thief who stole hundreds of pounds worth of chocolate and meat.

Adam Hadfield, 38, has been handed a criminal behaviour order (CBO) which bans him from shops and supermarkets in Clifton and West Bridgford for two years.

Officers from the Rushcliffe Neighbourhood Policing Team sought the order following a string of shop thefts.

Hadfield, of no fixed address, targeted a Tesco Express supermarket at Compton Acres Shopping Precinct five times during his shoplifting spree.

Magistrates heard Hadfield first stole boxes of chocolate valued at £60 on December 4, 2024, and returned to the shop only a few hours later the same afternoon to steal a further six tins of chocolate, also valued at £60.

Hadfield also stole meat products from a Sainsbury’s Local in Melton Road, West Bridgford on December 30, 2024.

He then returned to the Tesco Express a further three times stealing various items of stock, including £120 worth of chocolate Easter eggs on January 2.

Magistrates granted the CBO on February 21, which bans Hadfield from entering:

• All Co-op stores in the county of Nottinghamshire
• Sainsbury’s Local in Melton Road, West Bridgford
• Tesco Express at Compton Acres Shopping Precinct
• Shops in Southchurch Drive, Clifton, as mapped out in an exclusion area
• Shops at the Clifton Triangle Retail Park in Green Lane

Officers arrested Hadfield after he was spotted matching the description of a suspect wanted in relation to a shop theft on January 8.

Hadfield previously pleaded guilty to six thefts from the Tesco and Sainsbury’s supermarkets, between December 4 and January 8, when he appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on January 9.

Hadfield was jailed for 36 weeks and ordered to pay £220 in compensation.

PC Matthew Holden, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We take reports of retail crime very seriously and work closely with businesses to identify and arrest prolific offenders.

“Hadfield’s behaviour and the distress caused to retail staff by targeting the same shops repeatedly is completely unacceptable.

“This court order will go a long way in preventing Hadfield’s behaviour as should he breach these restrictions in the future, he will be liable for arrest.

“The criminal behaviour order and custodial sentence sends a clear message to anyone considering replicating these offences just how seriously we take this type of crime and the consequences that can follow.”