Man banned from every Co-op in Nottinghamshire and an Aldi

A shoplifter who will not stop stealing despite repeated jail sentences has been ordered not to enter any Co-op in Nottinghamshire after he struck again. Aaron Kelly, 35, was jailed for six months in January 2021, for two months in December 2021 and for another six months in March 2022.

In August of this year, he was jailed again for three months, with PC Sid Cook of Nottinghamshire Police saying: "I hope this latest prison sentence will be his last." Now he's back behind bars for a fifth time.

Despite having only been released weeks earlier from jail, he went into shops and brazenly took items without paying during October and early November. He targeted supermarkets, food stores and clothing stores in Clifton, West Bridgford and Chilwell.

On one occasion on October 15, he grabbed some air fresheners from a shop in Clifton, made a dash for it, and then threatened a security guard who tried to intervene. He was arrested after an investigation by neighbourhood policing teams.

On Monday, November 11, he was jailed for another 3 months and made the subject of a Criminal Behaviour Order, banning him from entering shops on Southchurch Drive in Clifton. Kelly, of no fixed abode, is also not permitted to enter stores in Green Lane or the Clifton Triangle.

Elsewhere, he's banned from any shop in Chilwell Retail Park, Aldi in West Bridgford and any Co-op across all of Nottinghamshire. The order will be in place for two years.

PC Jane Gibson, of the Clifton neighbourhood policing team, said: “Kelly is one of a relatively small number of persistent shoplifters who are responsible for the vast majority of these offences in our communities. Our most effective tool in the battle against these thieves is proving to be a combination of jail sentences and CBOs.

“Repeat offenders can expect a robust response from police and the courts if they breach their court order. The orders have real teeth and recent sentences handed down to other offenders who have breached them reflect that. By working effectively with our partners we can secure these orders and make it an offence for persistent shoplifters to even enter individual premises."