Prolific thief Adam Gosling, 39, casually stole dozens of drinks from the shelves of a Greggs store in west London on 38 different occasions over the course of six weeks
This is the moment a brazen thief stuffed his bags with drinks from Greggs before later returning to clear shelves.
Adam Gosling, 39, nicked nearly £2,000 worth of food from the popular bakery chain’s store in Greenford, west London, on 38 occasions between December last year and February 10. Gosling has been spared jail after he appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court earlier today.
Metropolitan Police video shared the moment Gosling was arrested by officers who quickly hauled him into one of their vehicles. They later uploaded several instances where Gosling stole numerous items from the shelves before casually walking out as though he had done nothing wrong.
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Gosling targeted items in thefts that ranged from £12.30 to £100 per visit and, on several occasions he hit the same shop multiple times in a single day. Over the course of six weeks, Gosling is estimated to have stolen goods worth £1,817.50.
Greggs staffed logged the thefts after they realised many items had vanished from their shelves. The Metropolitan Police’s Greenford Broadway safer neighbourhood team said one man, nicknamed “Hamster” by staff, had been the “most prolific” thief.
The defendant, who the court heard was homeless, pleaded guilty to 38 counts of theft from a shop. Chairwoman of the magistrates bench Judy Gregg sentenced him to four months suspended for one year.
“This result is the direct outcome of strong partnership work with Greggs staff, who have been exceptionally proactive in recording offences and supporting our investigation,” police community support officer James Tupman wrote after he was charged. “The volume of thefts had a significant impact on the business and our officers worked tirelessly to gather evidence, identify the offender and put long-term measures in place to prevent reoffending.”
Superintendent Sean Lynch, who leads neighbourhood policing in Ealing, said: “We are committed to tackling issues that have a real impact on businesses and communities – including shoplifting. In the last year, theft offences have fallen by 8.3 per cent in Ealing and 9.5 per cent across the Met as a whole.
“While we recognise there is more to do to continue to drive down crime, our officers will continue to work with their communities and businesses to tackle repeat offenders and bring them to justice.”
Gosling told The Mirror after he appeared in court: “Well I took drinks and I apologise wholeheartedly to Greggs and I’ll never do it again. I really mean that. The remorse I have is unbelievable and if I had a chance to say sorry to them I would go do it straight away.
“I’m going to make sure that people I know who do it are going to stop as well. This is the start of my new life and I’ll make sure there’s no new problems with Greggs.”
