CCTV footage has captured the moment a pensioner on a mobility scooter stole more than £250 worth of steaks from a Co-op in Peterborough, just days after being given a suspended sentence for a similar offence.
Malcolm Ravenhill, 63, was seen parking his silver and black electric scooter next to a meat fridge in the Orton Goldhay store on September 2. He calmly stuffed the steaks into the back of the scooter before leaving the shop, undeterred by other customers.
The brazen theft came only six days after Ravenhill received a suspended sentence at Peterborough Magistrates' Court, intended as a warning and a chance to stay out of trouble. Despite this, he continued offending and was identified through the shop's CCTV footage.
Police tracked Ravenhill to his home on Dogsthorpe Road and arrested him. He admitted the single count of theft and was jailed for a year last week at the same court that had previously given him a second chance.
PC Sam Malton, from the Spree Offender Team, said: “Ravenhill is a prolific offender who clearly didn’t learn his lesson having been given a suspended sentence less than a week before this offence. He clearly gave no thought to the impact his actions were having on others as he continued to offend.”
The case comes amid a 20% rise in shoplifting offences in the year to March, with 530,643 reported incidents. The rising cost of living has been cited as a key factor behind the surge in retail crime.
