Man who stole 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs convicted

Foiled again - a Cadbury Creme Egg thief is convicted in court

A man who stole 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs, causing a police panic about Easter, has been convicted in court.

Joby Pool was surrounded by a mountain of the foil-wrapped chocolate when police caught up with him at the weekend.

Recognising he was foiled too, he surrendered to officers with his hands up, prosecutors said.

He is due to be sentenced in Crown Court next month.

Pool, 32, used a stolen lorry with false plates to snatch a trailer containing the eggs from an industrial unit in Telford on Saturday, Kidderminster Magistrates' Court heard.

The BBC reported on Monday how the vehicle was stopped on the M42 motorway, leading West Mercia Police to say its officers - hunting someone "presumably purporting to be the Easter bunny" - had "saved Easter".

The defendant was caught transporting 200,000 of these chocolate treats

At court on Tuesday, Pool, from Dewsbury Road, Tingley, near Leeds, pleaded guilty to criminal damage and theft.

Prosecutor Owen Beale said the offence was not "spur of the moment", and there had been "significant planning".

Police said Pool had used a metal grinder to get through the gates of the industrial unit from where he stole the eggs and other varieties of chocolate.

His plan fell apart when he reached the northbound M42 where police pounced.

Mr Beale said: "He gave up at junction 11 and walked towards the police with his hands up - he was arrested and the load was recovered."

The haul was said to be worth more than £31,000 - about £9,000 less than Monday's police estimate.

Magistrates were told Pool had previous convictions in 2019 for similar offences including theft, handling stolen goods and driving while disqualified.

He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Shrewsbury Crown Court on 14 March for sentencing.

John McMillan, solicitor for the defendant, said his self-employed client knew a substantial sentence was likely.

He added: "There has been no interference with the food products that were taken - they will be in a condition that they can go back on the shelves."