Supermarket thief arrested after leaving trail of cheese as he left

A shoplifter was arrested after staff followed a trail of cheese he dropped as he was leaving the store. Luke Williams, 27, of no fixed address, admitted stealing £92 worth of cheese from the Tesco Extra store in Swansea, south Wales.



Prosecuting, Sharon Anderson told Swansea Magistrates' Court: "He had a tartan laundry bag and filled it up with cheese. There was a police officer in the shop and he helped to arrest him. He said he was looking to sell the cheese to raise money to live."

Mitigating, Anthony O'Connell said: "The shoplifting offence is perhaps the most unsophisticated offence before you for some time. He took the bag into the shop, and some of the cheese fell from it in the aisle. He leaves a trail of cheese for them to follow and pick up."



He said Williams was addicted to valium, and added: "He puts his stuff in a bag, and hides it, then spends his day drifting around and then finding some cardboard and looking for somewhere to live. That is his life. Then he goes into custody again and the cycle starts again." Magistrates sentenced Williams, who the court was told had committed 40 previous offences, to 20 weeks imprisonment.