A prolific thief from Shanklin who stuffed 6 packs of cheddar cheese up his T-shirt and left a supermarket without paying has been ordered to pay compensation to The Co-op.
Paul Smart, 38, of Orchardleigh Road in Shanklin, admitted theft from a shop when he appeared at the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court earlier today (Tuesday).
Prosecuting, Munayah Hassan, told the court that on the 24th September 2024, Smart entered The Co-op in Shanklin and picked up 6 packets of Cathedral City Cheddar Cheese.
Having picked up the goods and stuffed them up his T-shirt, Smart then proceeded to walk out of the store making no attempts to pay. The cheese wasn’t recovered.
The court heard how Smart has a total of 67 convictions for 182 offences, 107 of which are for theft.
For Smart, Michael McGoldrick, told the court that the matter was one of an un-sophisticated nature and that Smart had no intention of hiding his identity. He also added that the 38-year-old was homeless at the time and was a user of drugs.
Magistrates ordered Smart pay compensation of £24 to The Co-op.
Hahahaha the cheesy noob
So his punishment is to pay for the cheese!!! Wtf are these magistrates thinking? That’s really going to stop him doing it again. Over 100 previous convictions for theft. Why no community service, or fine or any type of punishment. Clearly these idiots are NOT fit for purpose. Might just start shoplifting and see how much I can get away with before I get caught. After all there is no deterrent whatsoever. Pathetic
The man is homeless, he has no money. This is a society problem, not a crime problem. AS you clearly don’t understand how the courts operate, why don’t you go and sit in the back of a court and see what happens.
Labour Britain 2025, not a smart move.
What has this got to do with Labour? Yet another useless comment
If they wasn’t punishing everyone with increased
taxes etc, crime would be much lower, it is only
going to get worse when the budget really kicks in.
Look how many vehicles are driving around the island
no tax, mot and insurance etc.
I wonder how many households are paying
single Council tax even though more than 1 person
is living in the home.
Caused by 14 years of under or no investment in anything by the Tory party!
True, but this Labour Government have done more
damage in 6 months than the Tories done in 14 years.
What Government would go against the pensioners of
the country by taking away their winter fuel allowance
THE LABOUR PARTY, even the TORY PARTY didn’t stoop
that low!
Does living in labour UK make people steal cheese? I’m getting the cracker urge personally.
What did Michael McGoldrick cost the taxpayer – ten times the cost of the cheese?