The case against a woman accused of raiding a Greggs more than 40 times has collapsed after police named her lookalike sister as the prime suspect.
Helen Connors, 31, was due at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Friday charged with targeting a Greggs store in Greenford, west London, 42 times between January and March 2026. She had claimed at an earlier hearing that her sister was the real thief, and the case was dropped when police conceded she had been ‘falsely identified’.
Prosecution admits mistaken identity
Katherine Fassam-Wright, prosecuting, told the court: ‘We have a witness statement from the police in which they said Ms Connors was falsely identified and it was in fact her sister who committed the offences.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson suggested the mix-up occurred because Ms Connors and her sister look ‘like twins’ and that the pair had a ‘similar offending history’.
Sister remains outstanding suspect
The force confirmed that while the sister is an ‘outstanding suspect’ in the case, she has yet to be arrested or charged.
‘The pair do look remarkably alike and have similar offending history, so I can see why the mistaken identifying has occurred’, the spokesperson said.
Separate thefts at same store
The same Greggs branch in Greenford was also the subject of a series of thefts by Adam Gosling, nicknamed ‘hamster’ by staff after stealing more than £1,800 of food and drinks from the store, including a large amount of Lucozade.
Gosling, 31, was filmed on CCTV making 38 visits to the branch between December 2025 and February this year, wearing a face covering while taking drinks from the fridges. He avoided prison after being given a suspended four-month sentence.
