Greggs cravings prove costly for Sunderland shoplifter

Josh Bewick, 34, again pleaded guilty – this time to pinching food and drink from the firm’s city centre Union Street branch on two separate occasions.

On Friday May 1, Bewick, of Foyle Street in the city centre, stole items valued at £17.45, South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard.

He returned to the same store on Tuesday, May 19, and made off with cans of Red Bull energy drink, valued at £5.85.

At an earlier court appearance at the same court on Wednesday, July 8, he pleaded guilty to stealing five drinks from two Greggs branches in the city.

The court heard how he swiped four drinks, totalling £8.45, from the same Union Street outlet on Friday, April 24.

And on Thursday, May 14, he stole a single £1 can of Red Bull from Greggs in nearby Park Lane.

At that appearance, magistrates ordered him to pay a total of £9.45 in compensation for his criminality,

Appearing before the same court again, he was ordered to pay back £23.30, but no costs or other charges were imposed.

Prosecutor Syed Ali said: “He has entered and selected items totalling £23.30 and that is the application for compensation.”

But Gerry Armstrong, defending, questioned why all four offences were not dealt with at the first hearing.

He added: “Mr Bewick has pleaded guilty to both of these offences and it’s very much to his credit that he’s accepted this.

“That is because we could have put the prosecution to proof, as we’ve only been sent a statement from Greggs.

“There’s nothing from the police, although it may be there. Mr Bewick has said that because it’s Greggs, he’ll plead guilty.

“We could have dealt with all of these matters together.”

The court was told Bewick owed £1,145 in charges from previous offending matters.

Clinton Leeks, chairman of the bench, told him: “This is nice and straightforward, unlike many cases we deal with.

“This isn’t the most serious matter – we need to put this one to bed.”