Silent Crime round-up: Serial offender will take 30 years to pay off court debts; notorious shoplifter is back behind bars
Here are some of the crime stories from across our network as NationalWorld continues its latest campaign.
Stories form outlets across our network has focused on ‘Silent Crime’, which is the NationalWorld campaign to shine a light on under-reported and often unresolved crime blighting communities. We want to hear about your experience with ‘low-level’ crime.
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A serial offender with 156 offences on his criminal record will take more than 30 years to pay off his court debts, reports the Sunderland Echo.
Paul Bolam, 42, owes a staggering £8,000 in past fines and costs from his relentless criminality – but is repaying at just £5 a week from benefits. His latest escapade came after he was caught with cannabis after drunkenly “letting his mouth go” at a Lidl store member who refused to serve him booze during an incident on August 17.
Bolam, who was last in court five months ago, pleaded guilty to charges of possession of class B cannabis and being drunk and disorderly in public. However, his lawyer, Adrian Ions, told the court that he had been struggling to adjust without support after being released from a prison sentence.
He said: “He was struggling to cope. The matters themselves are straightforward. There are no aggravating factors.”
A B&M store and a Tesco store in Derbyshire have been targeted by a thieves, with police appealing for information. As per the Derbyshire Times, the two thefts took place in Ilkeston in September.
Local police have since released CCTV images of two people they believe may be able to assist with the investigation - while a man has been identified and contacted by police, cops are still searching for a woman seen in one of the images.
Wigan Today reports that a notorious shoplifter is back behind bars after targeting a local supermarket.
Zara Fairhurst, 34, of Vulcan Road, Marsh Green, pinched £64 worth of chocolate and laundry detergent from a Lidl supermarket on September 21. The court said that because of her previous crimes, there was no choice but to send her to prison for four weeks.
A shoplifter in Shrewsbury has been instructed to pay compensation after stealing £120 worth of clothes from a Matalan store .
The Shropshire Star reported that Ashley Kitson, 32, swiped the clothes from the store in Harlescott Retail park, as well as stealing £125 worth of laundry items from B&M. He pleaded guilty to three counts of theft from a shop.
Magistrates handed him a 12-month community order which includes 15 rehabilitation activity days, and ordered him to pay £173 in compensation.
A man has been arrested after allegedly hurling racial abuse and attacking members of the public during an incident inside a supermarket.
A 30-year-old man from Portsmouth was arrested following an incident Tesco in Crasswell Street on September 28. According to The News, members of the public were struck by the man, with police saying that he has since been bailed pending further enquiries.