Shoplifter given prison sentence for prolific offending

A shoplifter who targeted stores across the Bracebridge Heath and Hykeham areas has been sentenced to four months in prison.

Paul Bedford, 43, of no fixed address, regularly stole items from Tesco in Bracebridge Heath and Co-Op stores in Hykeham over a period of two months. He was arrested and charged with 16 counts of shop theft last week.

Goods he stole included alcohol and food.

The successful conviction is thanks to proactive work by the local Neighbourhood Policing Team for Hykeham, Bracebridge Heath and the Cliff Villages, which followed multiple lines of enquiry and worked closely with the shops affected, members of the community, and our anti-social-behaviour team.

Bedford was remanded to appear at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on Saturday morning (14 January). At that hearing, he pleaded guilty to all of the offences and sentenced to four months in prison. In addition, he was ordered to pay costs of £1,500.

He was also given a three year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) which will remain in place once he completes his prison sentence. It has with specific conditions not to enter any retail premises in North Hykeham and Bracebridge Heath. A CBO is an order designed to tackle the most serious and persistent anti-social individuals where their behaviour has brought them before a criminal court. If it’s breached, this is a criminal offence and custodial sentence can be enforced to deal with the individual.

We keep a continued watch of people who are given CBOs, and we are proactively releasing Bedford’s image so that members of the community have the opportunity to stay clear of any potential offending, and are more able to report an incident if one occurs.

If you have an incident you feel needs police attention, please contact us on 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.