Hunstanton man stole nearly £250 worth of alcohol from Tesco in King’s Lynn

A man stole nearly £250 worth of alcohol in a bid to sell it off for money, a court heard.

Carl Roper, 46, of Seagate Road in Hunstanton, appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday charged with theft from a shop.

He pleaded guilty to the offence, which he committed on July 13.

Crown prosecutor Colette Harper told magistrates that on that date, Roper entered the Tesco store in Gaywood at around 4.45pm.

He concealed bottles of alcohol worth a combined £243 before leaving the store without paying, getting into a vehicle and driving off.

However, he was pulled over by police shortly afterwards – and subsequently attempted to discard the bag he had placed the drinks in.

However, the goods were recovered – meaning Roper owed no compensation to the supermarket.

Magistrates, led by Louise Barber, handed him a 12-month conditional discharge for the theft. He will also pay £105 in legal costs and a £26 victim surcharge.

In mitigation, George Sorrell said that Roper was “very short” of money at the time of his offence – only receiving £87 per month in Universal Credit.

“Unfortunately that tempted him to steal the goods from Tesco, in the hope that he could sell them for money – but luckily he was caught,” the solicitor added.