Peterborough shoplifter ignored court warning

A Peterborough shoplifter who stole again less than a week after being given a second chance by the courts has been jailed.

Aaron Cliffe, 28, entered a block of flats in Wentworth Street, Peterborough city centre, and stole three parcels on 26 July.

A neighbourhood officer spotted Cliffe near Queensgate bus station and arrested him for the thefts.

It came only four days after Cliffe had been given a six-week suspended sentence after being convicted of three counts of theft from a shop.

Cliffe, of Eastfield Road, Eastfield, Peterborough, admitted three counts of theft by finding and two counts of theft from a shop after he was also found to have stolen detergent pods from B&M, in Bridge Street, and Nike Trainers, from Deichmann, in Queensgate shopping centre.

He was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison, including the activation of the previous sentence, at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday (29 July).

PC Jay Cullimore, the dedicated Business Improvement District (BID) officer for Peterborough, said: “Cliffe was given a second chance by the courts and completely disregarded it by committing further offences within a week.

“I would like to encourage businesses who are impacted by retail crime to continue reporting incidents to us, regardless of value, as these help us to apply for court orders such as Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs), which give us greater powers when it comes to tackling prolific offenders.”