Sweet-toothed thief caught stealing 144 bars of chocolate in Worthing jailed

  • WATCH: CCTV of the thief raiding the Worthing store

A sweet-toothed shoplifter is behind bars after he was caught stealing £116 worth of chocolate.

Jordan Thomson was captured on CCTV stuffing the treats into his jacket and a bag.

He stole 48 Twix bars, 48 Snickers bars, 24 Bounty bars and 24 Yorkie bars from Co-Op in New Broadway, Worthing, on April 30 – not long after he was released from prison for similar offences.

It means the thief is in prison for the second time this year.

Thomson also stole 10 jars of coffee, five packets of washing detergent, two bottles of vodka and a large quantity of meat from various stores in Worthing in the weeks that followed.

Jordan Thomson stole 48 Twix bars, 48 Snickers bars, 24 Bounty bars and 24 Yorkie bars Credit: Sussex Police

As a persistent offender, staff were quickly able to identify Thomson and alert police, providing a number of CCTV clips as evidence.

The other stores included Co-Op in South Street, Worthing; Savers in Montague Street, Worthing; Tesco in Dominion Road, Worthing; and Co-Op in Ham Road, Shoreham.

The 30-year-old, of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with six counts of theft relating to a total of £357.40 worth of goods.

He pleaded guilty to all offences and was jailed for a total of 22 weeks. He was also ordered to pay £239 in costs.

Police Sergeant Sam Milsom, of the Response Investigations Team, said: “A number of our officers worked with great efficiency – assisted by our Business Crime Team – to present a case to the Crown Prosecution Service in a timely manner.

"This meant we were able to secure charges against a prolific offender and prevent further loss to businesses in Adur and Worthing.

“I hope Thomson learns from his previous mistakes and gets the support he needs to put a stop to his criminality, which causes so much harm to the business community.”