In March 2024, Lancashire Police launched an operation to crackdown on shoplifting on the county’s high streets.
Operation Vulture set out to catch thieves who visited to help themselves to goods from stores in Blackpool, Preston, Blackburn and across the county.
When LancsLive spoke to business owners it was clear the operation was needed. They described organised groups targeting their shops using distraction techniques to steal high value items.
Some shoplifters targeted charity shops and others were prolific, making repeat trips to big name chain stores. To date, more than 30 people have been sentenced as a result of the operation.
Inspector Dave Byrne from Preston’s Neighbourhood Policing team said: “Shoplifting can have a significant negative impact on businesses, shop staff and our local communities. This is a really positive result which will hopefully provide reassurance that we take this crime very seriously and will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure that shoplifters are brought to justice.”
Operation Vulture is Lancashire Constabulary’s response to shoplifting across the county, backed by Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw.
The operation sees dedicated officers undertaking hotspot patrolling, increasing their visibility in targeted areas and creating strong partnerships with retailers across the county to better share intelligence, get a deeper understanding of retail crime and identify more offenders.
These are the shoplifters who have been sentenced:
Gary Stock
Gary Stock
(Image: Lancs Police)
A shoplifter who stole £800 of designer clothes from a Preston store has been jailed.
Gary Stock took two coats from Tessuti, in the city centre, and left the shop without paying. Police were called on Friday December 19 and launched an investigation.
Following multiple enquiries, Stock was arrested by the Preston City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team and was charged with theft from a shop.
On Monday, (December 23), Stock, 42, of Maudland Bank, Preston, appeared at Preston Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison.
Adam Larkin
Adam Larkin
A prolific shoplifter will spend Christmas behind bars after stealing baby formula and other items from Asda.
Lancashire Police were called to the Asda Express store on Moor Road in Chorley on Friday (December 20) following reports a number of goods had been stolen. Adam Larkin, 37, of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with two counts of theft from a shop.
He was also charged with attempted theft from a shop and breach of a criminal behaviour order (CBO). On Monday (December 23), he appeared at Preston Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to the offences and was jailed for 20 weeks.
Robin Connolly
Robin Connolly has been jailed
A thief has been jailed for 12 months following a string of burglaries in Accrington.
Robin Connolly of Corporation Street was arrested and charged with four burglaries and three shoplifting offences. On Friday, December 2024 the 34-year-old appeared before Blackburn Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to the charges.
Connolly was then sentenced to 12 months in prison.
Aaron Bridge
Aaron Bridge
(Image: Lancashire Constabulary)
A Nelson man has been jailed and banned from certain high street stores after a string of shoplifting charges.
Aaron Bridge of Princess Street was charged with six counts of shoplifting and one count of Section 4 public order. The 37-year-old was sentenced to two weeks in jail after an appearance at Blackburn Magistrates Court on Thursday, December 19.
Bridge was also given a five-year CBO with a number of conditions. He is not to enter or attempt to enter a number of stores on the North Valley Road Retail Park, Colne.
James Donnelly
James Donnelly
(Image: Lancashire Constabulary)
A Lancaster man has been jailed for 32 months after being found guilty on a number of charges.
James Donnelly was found guilty of four shopliftings, one battery assault and three breaches of his restraining order. The courts heard Donnelly, of Crossdale Square, Lancaster, targeted a specific retail shop in Lancaster and stole from them on three occasions over three days in November 2024.
On one occasion, Donnelly pushed a female shopkeeper out of the way to make his escape. Previously, on October 11, Donnelly was given a restraining order from the same court to protect the shop’s members of staff after threatening to attack them with a knife.
He was also in breach of his restraining order. Courts also agreed with Lancaster Police to issue Donnelly with a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order.
This order prohibits him from entering any store within Lancaster City Centre, as well as Spar, Greaves Road, Co-op, Quernmore Road and Bargain Booze, Lentworth Drive for any reason.
Kyle Ronald
Kyle Ronald
A prolific shoplifter has been jailed after breaching a criminal behaviour order SIX times so he could steal coffee and chocolates.
Kyle Ronald, from Fleetwood, was issued with a CBO which prohibited him from entering various stores in the town, including Asda, Poundstretcher and Savers. The 32-year-old ignored the order six times between November 23 and December 13 this year.
He ignored the rules by walking into the three stores and stealing razors, milkshakes, jars of coffee, bath products and boxes of Ferrero Rocher. According to the magistrates court sheet, the total value of items stolen was £393.
Ronald, of Addison Road, appeared before Lancaster Magistrates Court on Tuesday (December 17). Lancashire Constabulary said he was found guilty of nine shoplifting offences and six breaches of the CBO and sentenced to six months in prison.
Chris Costello
Chris Costello
A prolific shoplifter has been banned from entering a town centre in east Lancashire for five years.
Chris Costello has become the latest to be served with a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) by Lancashire Police. The 61-year-old, of no fixed address, was given the CBO because of shoplifting offences.
He was sentenced at Blackburn Magistrates Court on December 12 and is now prohibited from entering Colne town centre. Police shared a mugshot picture of Costello on social media as well as a map showing the area where he is now banned.
Olivia McNeil
Olivia McNeil
A woman has been banned from seven major stores in Blackpool.
Olivia McNeil was given a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order as a result of her prolific shoplifting offences in the town. The 38-year-old, of Egerton Road, was given the CBO at Lancaster Magistrates Court earlier this week with a number of conditions.
Lancashire Constabulary said she is banned from entering or attempt to enter any of the following stores within the Blackpool area: Tesco; Tesco Express; HMV; Savers; B&M Bargains; Asda; and One Stop.
Alan Morris
Alan Morris
A prolific shoplifter who was snared by two ‘brave’ six-year-old girls despite trying to ‘shush’ them has been jailed.
Officers were called on Blackpool following reports that Alan Morris, wanted for 22 offences throughout the seaside town October, had been spotted. Following a short foot chase, the 31-year-old thought he had escaped officers by hiding between a bin shed and a bush in a nearby front garden.
However, two eagle-eyed girls saw the offender and, realising officers were looking for him, pointed him out to them, despite the offender trying to ‘shush’ them. Morris, of no fixed address, was arrested at the scene on November 7.
Lancashire Constabulary said he has since been given a nine-month prison sentence and a three year Criminal Behaviour Order which bans him from entering any Asda and Tesco in Blackpool. The girls who helped apprehend him were visited by officers in their school assembly, who awarded them a certificate and chocolates.
Claire Snowden and Amy Barnes
Claire Snowden and Amy Barnes
These serial shoplifters found themselves in trouble with the law after targeting some big name stores.
They repeatedly used five-finger discounts to nab items from the likes of Asda, M&S, Aldi, Matalan. As punishment for their crime sprees, Claire Snowden and Amy Barnes have been handed criminal behaviour orders, which ban them from entering certain shops.
Snowden, 39, of Vance Road, Blackpool, has been given a three-year CBO as a result of shoplifting offences in the Blackpool area. She was sentenced at Lancaster Magistrates Court earlier this month and the CBO includes conditions not to enter or attempt to enter any stores on and within the following areas
- New Bonny Street
- Springfield Road
- Dickinson Road
- King Street
- Adelaide Street
- Albert Road
Barnes, 28, of Newfield Drive, Nelson, was also given a three-year CBO as a result of her ‘prolific shoplifting’. She was sentenced at Blackburn Magistrates Court on December 10 with conditions prohibiting her from entering:
- Farm Foods, Market Street, Colne.
- Sainsbury’s, Windy Bank, Colne.
- Aldi, North Valley Retail Park, Colne.
- LIDL, North Valley Retail Park, Colne.
- NISA, Skipton Road, Colne.
- B and M, Corporation Street, Colne
- Matalan, North Valley Retail Park, Colne
- One Stop Shop, Netherfield Road, Nelson
- SPAR, Manchester Road, Nelson
- Lidl, Rigby Street, Nelson
- Home Bargains, 11 Leeds Road, Nelson
- Asda Stores, Swinden Retail Park, Corporation Street, Colne
- Morrisons, Pendle Street, Nelson
- Marks and Spencer, St James Street, Burnley
Christopher Leigh
Christopher Leigh
A prolific shoplifter is behind bars after targeting stores across Preston.
Christopher Leigh was arrested last Thursday (November 21) by the Preston City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team. It follows incidents at shops in the city, included one at Spar on Liverpool Road on November 10 in which cigarettes and alcohol were stolen.
The 50-year-old, of no fixed address, was charged with six counts of theft from a shop and a further charge of theft from a motor vehicle. He appeared at Preston Magistrates Court on Saturday (November 23) and was sentenced to four months in prison.
The magistrates also imposed a further eight-month jail term for breaching a previous suspended sentence, bringing the total sentence to 12 months.
Shaun Lally
Shaun Lally
A prolific shoplifter has been banned from entering four stores and a shopping centre after a spate of incidents in East Lancashire.
Shaun Lally has been slapped with a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order and prohibited from entering Tesco, Lidl, Home Bargains and Spar stores after a number of thefts. The 38-year-old, of Monmouth Street, Burnley, was given the CBO at Blackburn Magistrates Court earlier this month with a number of conditions.
He is not to enter or attempt to enter Home Bargains and Lidl, both on Colne Road in Burnley, Tesco Express on Casterton Avenue in Burnley and the SPAR store on Burnley Road in Accrington. He is also banned from Briercliffe Shopping Centre on Briercliffe Road in Burnley.
Hannah Hawke
Hannah Hawke
A woman has been banned from entering a Co-op store following a shoplifting spree.
Hannah Hawke has been given a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) as a result of her prolific offending. She was given the CBO at Blackburn Magistrates Court earlier this month.
The court sheet said she pleaded guilty to 10 offences of theft between January and September this year. Nine of the offences occurred at the Spar shop in Haslingden while the other was committed at a SPAR store in Bacup.
The 35-year-old, from Haslingden, stole meat, cleaning products and washing powder worth hundreds of pounds. The conditions of the CBO prohibit her from entering Co-op store on John Street in Haslingden.
Sabrina Lyttle
Sabrina Lyttle
(Image: Lancs Police)
A shoplifter from Blackpool has been jailed for two months.
Police were called to Boots on Bank Hey Street on Monday November 4 2024 following reports that various items had been stolen. A 47-year-old woman was arrested at the scene and later charged with eight counts of theft from a shop.
Sabrina Lyttle, 47, of Lune Grove, Blackpool, appeared at Lancaster Magistrates Court on Tuesday November 5 and was sentenced to eight weeks in prison.
Simon Ferguson
Simon Ferguson, 34, targeted Morrisons and Aldi stores in Parbold and Skelmersdale
(Image: Lancashire Police)
A prolific shoplifter who stole booze and sweets from supermarkets in West Lancashire has been jailed.
Simon Ferguson, 34, targeted Morrisons and Aldi stores in Parbold and Skelmersdale, helping himself to the items without paying.
Police investigated the reports and arrested Ferguson, of Eskdale, Skelmersdale, on suspicion of two counts of theft from a shop.
He pleaded guilty at Preston Magistrates Court on Wednesday (October 30) and was jailed for 16 weeks.
Lee Scott
Lee Scott
(Image: Lancs Police)
A prolific shoplifter who targeted businesses in Burnley has been banned from entering Farmfoods.
Lee Scott, 33, appeared at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court on October 23, where he admitted multiple offences of theft. Magistrates jailed the thief for four months and also banned him from entering Rossendale Road Service Station as part of a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order to prevent his offending.
Scott, of Melrose Avenue, Burnley, was caught during Operation Vulture, Lancashire Constabulary’s response to shoplifting across the county, backed by Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw.
George Owen
George Owen
A prolific thief who inflicted misery on shopkeepers has been banned from entering parts of Ormskirk town centre and any B&M store.
George Owen, of Birkrig, Skelmersdale, appeared at Preston Magistrates Court yesterday (October 16) and pleaded guilty to three counts of theft from a shop. Lancashire Constabulary said it related to incidents in Ormskirk between September and October.
The 56-year-old was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison. He was also given a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order with conditions prohibiting him from entering parts of Ormskirk Town Centre and from entering any B&M store.
Michael Riley
Michael Riley
A ‘prolific shoplifter’ has been banned from entering four stores in Blackpool after a spate of incidents.
Michael Riley has been slapped with a four-year Criminal Behaviour Order and prohibited from entering Aldi, Tesco, Savers, and Asda. The 49-year-old, of Bagot Street, was sentenced to five and a half months in prison after he was charged with 14 counts of theft from a shop.
He was also charged with one count of burglary and fraud by false representation. Riley is one of several people to be charged or jailed in recent weeks as part of ‘Operation Vulture’ following theft incidents in the town.
Sean Kellett
Sean Kellett
A prolific shoplifter has been jailed following a recent crime spree where he stole more than £400 in beauty products.
Sean Kellett appeared at Preston Magistrates Court where he was sentenced to 52 weeks in prison. The 36-year-old, of no fixed abode, was arrested and charged with five counts of theft from a shop.
On Tuesday, October 8, officers officers from the Preston City Centre team were called to Boots on Fishergate following reports that beauty products worth around £402 were taken from the store. Following multiple enquiries, Kellett was arrested and charged and appeared in court two days later and pleaded guilty to all charges.
Nicole Hartley
Nicole Hartley
A woman has been banned from entering four stores at a Lancashire retail park following a shoplifting spree.
Nicole Hartley, 25, has been given a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) as a result of her prolific offender. She was given the CBO at Blackburn Magistrates Court earlier this month.
The conditions prohibit Hartley, of Garden Street, Nelson, from entering B&M, Asda, Poundland or Pets at Home on Swindon Retail Park in Colne.
Kristian King
Kristian King has been sentenced to 10 weeks in prison
(Image: Lancashire Police)
A man has been jailed for 10 weeks for a number of thefts in Accrington.
Kristian King was arrested and charged for theft from a motor vehicle, criminal damage to a vehicle and three counts of theft from a shop. On Monday, September 30 the 33-year-old from Broadfield Road, Accrington appeared before Blackburn Magistrates court where he pleaded guilty to the charges.
King has been sentenced to 10 weeks in prison and instructed to pay £413 in compensation. King was arrested following Lancashire Police’s scheme, Operation Vulture.
Angela Prescott
Angela Prescott
A woman has been banned from entering every Asda, Aldi, Co-Op and Spar store in Lancashire after a shoplifting spree.
Angela Prescott, 45, has been given a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) as a result of her prolific offending. She is currently serving a 16-week prison sentence after being convicted in August.
Lancashire Police said Prescott, of Southport Terrace, Chorley, was given the CBO at Blackburn Magistrates Court earlier this month. The conditions prohibit her from entering any Asda, Aldi, Co-Op or Spar in Lancashire, including any carparks attached to those stores.
Luke Roberts
Luke Roberts
A thief who stole hundreds of pounds worth of skincare from a Boots store has been jailed.
The products, worth £206, were stolen from the shop in Preston city centre on Wednesday (September 18). Luke Roberts was arrested on suspicion of theft after the incident was reported to police.
The 27-year-old, of West Park Avenue, was later charged with the offence and appeared before magistrates on Friday. He was sentenced to a total of 16 weeks in prison.
David Yates and Scott Chinnery
Scott Chinnery and David Yates
Two prolific shoplifters who made life a misery for traders have been jailed.
David Yates and Scott Chinnery were arrested following investigations by Blackburn Police. Officers detained Chinnery, 35, on September 4 in connection with a number of thefts that had taken place at various businesses across the town.
Chinnery, of no fixed address, appeared in court the next where he pleaded guilty to the charges. He was jailed for 36 weeks.
Yates, 39, of no fixed address, was arrested on September 10 and was charged with 14 shoplifting offences and two breaches of a Criminal Behaviour Order. He appeared in court on September 11 where he was jailed for 22 weeks.
Stacey Swift
Stacey Swift
A woman has been banned from entering any Tesco or Tesco Express store in Blackpool following a shoplifting spree.
Stacey Swift, 39, has been jailed for 11 months following numerous offences in the seaside town over a two-month period. On August 16, Lancashire Police were called to a store on Lytham Road after reports were made of a woman taking food items from inside.
Swift, of no fixed address, was soon arrested and later charged with 11 counts of shoplifting over a period of two months. She has now been sent to prison and also given a Criminal Behaviour Order, which bans her from entering any Tesco or Tesco Express in the Blackpool area.
Nikki Rogers
Nikki Rogers
A shoplifter has been jailed for a high value theft from a store in Preston. Police were called to Boots on Fishergate last Tuesday (August 13).
It was reported that skincare, worth around £850, had been stolen from the store. Nikki Rogers, 36, of Ripon Street, Preston was charged with theft and breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order.
On Friday, August 16, Rogers appeared in court where she pleaded guilty to the charges and was jailed for four months. She will also be subject to the Criminal Behaviour Order which prevents her from entering city centre stores and shopping centres until 2027.
James Dobson
James Dobson of no fixed abode
(Image: Lancs Police)
A Lancaster man has been found guilty of burglary and breaching his sex offenders notification requirements.
James Dobson, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of burglary, shoplifting and breaching his sex offenders notification requirements in Lancaster in July 2024. He has been handed a 12-month sentence at Lancaster Magistrates Court.
The court heard Dobson had forced his way into a vape store in the city centre, caused considerable damage and took around £1,000 worth of stock. It was then heard that the 22-year-old stole from a city centre supermarket and took over £100 worth of meat.
Finally, the court heard Dobson failed in his sex offenders notification requirements.
Kenneth McEwan
Kenneth McEwan
A prolific shoplifter who terrorised staff by striking at the same store over and over again has been jailed.
Lancashire Constabulary were alerted by workers at the shop in Blackpool that they were being targeted by Kenneth McEwan, sometimes visiting up to three times a day. During a dedicated operation, officers arrested the 43-year-old after he was seen shoplifting food items and running out of the store.
He had 12 outstanding offences against him, all from the same store. McEwan was charged and remanded for all 12 offences and has now been sentenced to 18 weeks in prison.
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