Highcliffe shoplifter Joshua Crichton ordered by Southampton magistrates to compensate Waitrose after stealing bottles of Jack Daniels, Bushmills, Hennessey and Laurent Perrier

A SHOPLIFTER from Highcliffe was ordered to pay almost £800 in compensation after stealing bottles of high-end spirits from a Lymington store.

Appearing before Southampton magistrates for sentencing, Joshua Crichton (33), of Lymington Road, had previously admitted committing three thefts at two stores.

Magistrates heard that at 4.50pm on Wednesday 16th August, Crichton stole alcohol worth £649.46 from Waitrose in Stanford Road, Lymington.

The stolen drink included Hennessy Cognac, Laurent Perrier Brut, Laurent Perrier Rose Champagne, prosecco, wine and vodka.

Magistrates were told Crichton went back to the store the following day at 4pm and stole another £124 worth of alcohol, including three bottles of Bushmills Whiskey and two bottles of Kraken Spiced Rum.

The bottles were recovered by store security.

Prior to the Lymington offences, at 1.30pm on 1st May, Crichton stole £147.50 worth of alcohol from Waitrose in Portswood Road, Southampton.

The items stolen included a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Triple Mash, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, a bottle of Woodford Reserve Bourbon and two bottles of Jack Daniel’s.

Magistrates ordered Crichton pay £796.96 in compensation to Waitrose.

Following the conviction, Sgt Arron Wood of the New Milton Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “This outcome was only possible because of some good work from our officers and teams.

“Our offender management team linked in with probation to identify an address for Crichton. This was an address we previously had no idea about.

“Our New Milton and Lymington officers then followed up by taking prompt action to ensure he was arrested and subsequently charged.”

Sgt Wood added: “As I have previously said, retail crime in Hampshire is one of the force’s current priorities and we continue to support that by robustly dealing with shoplifters.

“We will always deal with these matters seriously and will make all efforts to try and identify offenders if we don’t know who they are.”