No jail sentence, but shoplifter must pay £1k compensation

PERSISTENT shoplifter Daniel Gillett escaped a jail sentence this week, but has been ordered to pay almost £1,000 in compensation for goods he stole from local shops to feed his drug habit. Quite frankly we would have liked to send you to prison, because

PERSISTENT shoplifter Daniel Gillett escaped a jail sentence this week, but has been ordered to pay almost £1,000 in compensation for goods he stole from local shops to feed his drug habit.

"Quite frankly we would have liked to send you to prison, because we don't like your behaviour in the community," he was told by presiding magistrate at Ely courthouse, Susan Thompson.

"You have been persistently shop lifting for the last eight years We have got a list of eight local premises you have stolen from.

"These are hard working people who provide a service for the community and you are persistently going in and stealing from them."

Gillett, 22, of New Barns Avenue, Ely, admitted stealing wine and a yoghurt drink worth £25.53 from the BP garage in Ely; stealing £100 worth of toiletries from Lloyds Pharmacy in Littleport; the theft of a £280 television from Woolworths in Ely; and stealing various air freshners and cleaning materials from One Stop in Ely.

He asked for eight further offences to be taken into consideration, including thefts from Waitrose, Gibbs, Woolworths and Spar.

Mitigating, Michael Judkins said Gillett had helped the police with unsolved crimes, by admitting the string of offences.

Gillett had committed the thefts when a mix-up meant he lost his prescription, and so he reverted to the use of street heroin.

"The shop lifting was to provide sufficient funds to keep that habit going," he explained. "It would not have happened if he had not lost his prescription. His drug addiction has had a hold of him for far too long."

Gillett was given a 30-month supervision order. He must attend the community drug intervention programme and pay £135 costs.