'Very well-known shoplifter' with 278 offences is jailed again

Both her latest thefts were from the Co-op in Clarendon Park Road, Leicester
Both her latest thefts were from the Co-op in Clarendon Park Road, Leicester -Credit:Google


A notorious shoplifter has been jailed for stealing meat and cheese, bringing her total number of offences to 278. Leicester Magistrates' Court heard on Wednesday that Laura Neale, 34, stole for financial gain and due to her "thrill-seeking" personality.

Having been released from a prison sentence for shoplifting at the end of February, Neale, of the Dawn Centre in Conduit Street, Leicester city centre, was once again stealing on Friday, March 29.

CCTV footage showed her walking into the Co-op in Clarendon Park Road, Leicester, loading a trolley full of steaks worth about £70 and wheeling it out of the shop. She went back for more items two days later on Sunday, March 31, when a shop assistant confronted her and called 999.

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Describing what happened on that occasion, prosecutor Richard Holt told the court: "At 3pm a shop employee sees the defendant, who is a very well-known shoplifter, and calls 999 because she's banned from going into the store.

"She takes 10 to 15 packs of Cathedral City cheese. He challenged her and she said, 'What are you going to do?'"

Leicestershire Police arrived in time to catch Neale and the cheese was returned to the store. Mr Holt said Neale already had 276 other offences on her record.

He said: "The defendant has a pretty impressive record, I'm afraid. She has 276 offences mostly for theft. In February of 2024 she had been locked up for six weeks."

The probation service reported that Neale, who has both mental and physical health issues, had failed to co-operate with her post-sentence supervision since leaving prison and was motivated by financial gain and thrill-seeking behaviour.

Rachel Gaffney, representing Neale, who had pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, said: "The defendant accepts this was a foolish decision and she is motivated to change." She asked the magistrates to impose a suspended sentence.

But the magistrates locked Neale up for 10 weeks. The chair of the bench, Roger Cook, told Neale: "It is aggravated by your vast record for identical offences and you have just been released from prison for an identical theft.

"We see no prospect at the moment of rehabilitation." After her release from prision Neale will have to pay £70 compensation to the Co-op.