Man jailed after stealing nearly 800 Cadbury’s Creme Eggs

The prolific shop lifter targeted 19 shops across three counties.

A shoplifter has been jailed after stealing 798 Cadbury’s Creme Eggs.

Leyton Richards, from Portsmouth, targeted 19 shops across Hampshire, Dorset and West Sussex, including 13 Co-Op stores.

He stole £3,463.96 of produce and products, including the chocolate eggs.

The 29-year-old appeared before Portsmouth Magistrates Court where he was convicted of 24 separate shoplifting incidents taking place between January 6 and April 18 this year.

He was sentenced to eight months in jail.

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 have been working in strong partnership with retailers regarding offenders who repeatedly target stores and victims with their persistent, and often intimidating, criminality.

‘As a result of this collaboration with retail partners, we have been able to ensure that we are sharing information and evidence more effectively, resulting in stronger cases being presented to the Crown Prosecution Service.’

Richards isn’t the only shoplifter with a penchant for Creme Eggs.

Earlier this year, 40-year-old Scott McSpadden ended up in court after helping himself to £60 worth of the chocolate treats without paying at a Tesco in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.

And last year, Joby Pool, 32 stole a whopping 200,000 Cadbury’s Creme Eggs after breaking into an industrial unit in Telford, Shropshire.

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