‘Easter Bunny’ theft: man faces jail after stealing 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs from Shropshire industrial unit

A man who stole 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs could face jail after he pleaded guilty to theft and criminal damage.

Joby Pool, who made off with a trailer filled with £31,000 worth of assorted chocolate goods, is being sentenced on Tuesday (14 March) at Telford Magistrates’ Court. He is expected to be jailed for around two years.

The 32-year-old, dubbed the ‘Easter Bunny’ by police, last month used a metal grinder to break into an industrial unit in Telford, Shropshire - before snatching the confectionary using a stolen lorry with false plates. His plan was scrambled when he was stopped by West Mercia Police on the M42, with the force claiming its officers had “saved Easter”.

Opening the facts of the case against Pool during his court appearance in February, prosecutor Owen Beale argued that the offence was not “spur of the moment” and there had instead been “significant planning”. He said: “This is clearly an organised criminal matter. You don’t just happen to learn about a trailer with that kind of value being available.”

Pool, from West Yorkshire, reportedly “gave up” at Junction 11 when police caught up to him - walking towards the officers with “his hands up”. Magistrates also heard that the self-employed ground worker had previous convictions in 2019 for similar offences, including theft, handling stolen goods, and driving while disqualified.

John McMillan, defending, 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.”

In a series of tweets announcing that the case had been cracked, West Mercia Police referred to the crime as an “eggs-travagant theft” - describing how officers had arrested a man “presumably purporting to be the Easter Bunny.”

Meanwhile, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Market Drayton station told police there had been “eggcellent work by all involved”.