Prison for shoplifter given second chance by court

Edward Wilby, 34, was caught on CCTV leaving a shop with two joints of lamb without paying

A prolific shoplifter who was given a second chance by a court has been jailed after being caught stealing again.

Edward Wilby, 34, was captured on CCTV leaving a shop in Peterborough with two joints of lamb he had not paid for.

He had been given a suspended sentence in March rather than being sent straight to jail after being convicted of shoplifting.

He was given a six-month jail sentence for theft at Huntingdon Magistrates' Court.

Wilby had received a 20-week suspended sentence on 25 March, after being convicted of four counts of theft from a shop.

He was therefore not sent to prison at that hearing, but risked a jail sentence for the four thefts if he offended again.

He had also been given a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order in July last year.

Cambridgeshire Police said he was caught on CCTV on 29 April walking into the Co-op in Ortongate Shopping Centre, where he picked up two joints of lamb worth £32.04 and left without attempting to pay.

Wilby was caught on CCTV taking joints of lamb from a Co-op

Wilby was arrested at his home in Mandeville, Orton Goldhay, on 25 May after being identified by neighbourhood policing officers.

He appeared at Huntingdon Magistrates’ Court on 27 May, where the suspended sentence was activated and he was jailed for six months.

Wilby was sentenced following the theft from the Co-op in Ortongate Shopping Centre

PC Alexandra Pullan, from Cambridgeshire Police, said: "Prolific offenders such as Wilby can have a significant impact on businesses and their staff, and I would like to thank them for continuing to aid us in tackling retail crime by reporting any incidents.

"Court orders such as Criminal Behaviour Orders give us greater powers when it comes to managing prolific offenders.

"If they are found to be in breach of their conditions, we can arrest them and put them back before the courts."