Prolific shoplifter who returned to same store four times in one day is jailed

A prolific shoplifter who returned to the same shop four times in one day has been jailed after committing 71 offences in an eight-month spree.

Rhys Mansell, 37, stole almost £13,000 of goods between March 2023 and January this year.

The drug addict struck 26 times in just 29 days at Co-op and One Stop shops, stealing goods worth £5,035.

He also stole from one Co-op outlet 38 times, costing it £6,510 in stolen items.

A “broad range” of items, from alcohol and food to household items, were stolen.

None of the goods were ever recovered as the 37-year-old is thought to have sold them on to fund his drug habit.

The case comes as new statistics reveal shoplifting has hit a 20-year record high in England and Wales.

An Office for National Statistics survey showed more than 430,000 offences were recorded last year, which was up more than a third on the previous year and the highest figure since current police records began in 2003.

Retailers say those figures represent just a fraction of the true number of incidents, with many not reported to police because of the time it takes and the lack of follow-up from police.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard Mansell either worked as part of a gang or on his own and targeted mostly Co-op stores in the Bournemouth area.

He was also involved in a burglary at Simply Pleasure, a sex-toy shop in Bournemouth, which Mansell and another man broke into overnight on Nov 23 last year and stole at least 10 sex products.

He admitted 75 offences across 53 cases at Bournemouth Crown Court, with the non-shoplifting offences being burglary, possessing a knife in a public place and two offences of failing to surrender to custody.

Judge William Mousley acknowledged that “shoplifting of this sort is somewhat in the public eye at the moment” and said this was a “concerted and long campaign” against shops.

He sentenced Mansell to three years in prison and made him subject to a restraining order banning him from entering any Co Op or One Stop until April 25 2028.

Judge Mousley said compensation and costs were “entirely unrealistic”.

He said to Mansell: “I hope you continue to address your drug problems when you are released and you will be able to put this very difficult chapter in your life behind you.”