VIDEO: Man steals 144 bars of chocolate from store

A sweet-toothed shoplifter is behind bars for the second time already this year, after he was caught stealing £116 worth of chocolate.

This footage shows the moment Jordan Thomson stole 48 Twix bars, 48 Snickers bars, 24 Bounty bars and 24 Yorkie bars from Co-Op in New Broadway, Worthing, on 30 April – not long after he was released from prison for similar offences.

He also stole 10 jars of coffee, five packets of washing detergent, two bottles of vodka and a large quantity of meat from various stores in Worthing in the weeks that followed.

As a persistent offender, staff were quickly able to identify Thomson and alert police, providing a number of CCTV clips as evidence.

The other stores included Co-Op in South Street, Worthing; Savers in Montague Street, Worthing; Tesco in Dominion Road, Worthing; and Co-Op in Ham Road, Shoreham.

The 30-year-old, of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with six counts of theft relating to a total of £357.40 worth of goods.

He pleaded guilty to all offences and was jailed for a total of 22 weeks at Crawley Magistrates’ Court on 22 May. He was also ordered to pay £239 in costs.

Police Sergeant Sam Milsom, of the Response Investigations Team, said: “A number of our officers worked with great efficiency – assisted by our Business Crime Team – to present a case to the Crown Prosecution Service in a timely manner. This meant we were able to secure charges against a prolific offender and prevent further loss to businesses in Adur and Worthing.

“I hope Thomson learns from his previous mistakes and gets the support he needs to put a stop to his criminality, which causes so much harm to the business community.”

Find out more about business crime, including what you can do to prevent and detect it, here.