Greggs thief jailed after baker's dozen of raids on Houghton branch

A crack cocaine-user with an appetite for Greggs’ grub has been jailed for repeatedly pinching from its Houghton branch.

Layton Wood, 41, struck a baker's dozen of times at the firm’s Newbottle Street outlet, netting at least £73 worth of sandwiches and snacks during the 13 incidents.

Wood, of South View Terrace, also targeted the neighbouring Savers store, stealing £106 of fragrances he intended to sell for drug buying money.

In other offending, he was found in the passenger seat of a crashed van stolen from a sleeping friend, magistrates in South Tyneside heard.

They were told he had admitted to police he and an unnamed pal had taken the motor without consent to pop to a shop to buy booze on New Year’s Eve.

Wood committed seven of the Greggs thefts while on a community order, imposed in December for earlier offending against the same store.

He has now been jailed for 10 weeks, a sentence his solicitor told magistrates they had no alternative but to impose in a bid to curb his criminality.

Prosecutor Holly Clegg said: “He took items from Greggs without giving payment. He was identified by staff members.

“The victim of the van had parked it outside the defendant’s address on December 31. The victim admits he had taken drugs and had been drinking.

“He fell asleep and was woken by a call from someone who said his van had been taken and had been involved in a crash.

“The van had crashed, causing damage of £2,000. The defendant admitted taking the van.

“He said he had taken it to get more drink and was going to hand himself in.

“He was found in the passenger seat, but there was no evidence he had been driving.”

Wood pleaded guilty to five new counts of theft from a shop, between January 29 and February 1, having previously pleaded guilty to all other same offences.

He also admitted allowing himself to be carried in a stolen vehicle and breaching his community order by failing to attend three appointments.

And he admitted breaching the terms of a conditional discharge, imposed in January for two other shop thefts, by committing new crimes.

Robin Ford, defending, said: “He was the passenger in the vehicle, not the driver. He has been on remand since February 8.

“The process, he would say, of detoxification from crack and alcohol has begun. He has had periods of sobriety and periods of being drug-free.

“It’s sad that there’s nowhere else for him to go but prison. The courts have given him every chance.

“The residents of Houghton need a break from Layton Wood and the staff members of Greggs and Savers need a break from Layton Wood.”

Magistrates jailed Wood for ten weeks for each of 13 thefts and the same for all other offences, to run concurrently.

He must pay compensation of £106 to Savers, £79 to Greggs and £150 for the owner of the van and was banned from driving for five months.

There were no court costs.