Shoplifter Jailed After Stealing Goods Worth £1,600

A woman from Peterborough who stole goods worth more than £1,600 from four shops across Cambridgeshire has been jailed.

Lorraine Williams, 48, was arrested at the Tesco Extra store at Serpentine Green, Hampton, on Monday (18 January) after we received reports of shoplifting.

She was questioned by store security after she attempted to leave the shop with a trolley containing a blanket concealing alcohol and household items worth £720.

Williams had entered the store, headed straight to the homeware section and selected a blanket and other items before moving on to the spirits isle and placing five bottles of Smirnoff vodka and two bottles of wine in her trolley.

Covering all the items up with the blanket, Williams then exited the store without making any attempt to pay, however she was stopped by the eagle-eyed security guard.

We were called to arrest Williams who was found with a ‘de-tagging’ device concealed within her bra.

Whilst in custody, Williams was arrested in connection with three other instances of shoplifting.

The previous day (Sunday 17 January), she stole 16 bottles of spirits worth £540 from Tesco Extra in Hostmoor Avenue, March. She was captured on CCTV using the de-tagging device to remove security tags from the alcohol.

On Friday, 8 January, Williams’ targeted Tesco Extra in Cromwell Road, Wisbech, and stole a trolley full of spirits amounting to £180, as well as a Ted Baker handbag worth £180 from John Lewis in Cambridge on 3 October last year.

Williams, of Crowland Road in Eye, appeared at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court where she admitted three charges of theft and was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison.