Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris said that he had highlighted before that the Co-op was not quick to report thefts of alcohol.
‘As I have said on many times in the past, the Co-op don’t seem to pay attention to their stock,’ Mr Harris said. ‘In this case they allowed five bottles of spirits to be taken by someone I can only assume had not been sober at any point.’
He made the comments in the case of John Peter Le Miere (44), of Kensington Place, who admitted a total of eight charges of stealing bottles of vodka from town supermarkets. He was sentenced to six months’ probation and ordered to pay a total of £125 in compensation.
Six of the thefts by Le Miere were from the Co-op Locale store in Don Street and they all took place in the space of about two weeks between the end of June and early July.
Each of the bottles of vodka stolen were worth more than £30. The other two thefts were from an Iceland store in town.
Mr Harris said that the case ‘highlights why it is so important that licensees keep good track of their stock because of the consequences for individuals, the health service, the police and the public’.
He added that the decision to impose a probation order on Le Miere was a ‘high risk’ strategy as a way of addressing his alcohol addiction but the defendant gave assurances to the court that he would follow the directions given. Le Miere said that when he was given probation in Luton previously, he fully complied with the terms of an 18-month order.
