Shoplifter who walked out of B&M with Henry vacuum cleaner tried to get away with £400 TV from Tesco

Deputy District Judge Gary Garland told Anthony Tumilty, 49: “How you expected to get away with carrying a big hoover out through the front doors. It was a bit of a giveaway.”

But he did not comment on Tumilty, of city centre Tatham Street, then walking to a nearby Tesco outlet and trying to make off with a bigger prize – a 50in-TV.

The criminal struck first at B&M’s Kingston Park store on the outskirts of Newcastle on Friday, November 20.

When inside, he took a £140 Henry vacuum cleaner, South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard.

He then walked to Tesco’s superstore and tried to leave with a £399 television.

Prosecutor Gurjot Kaur said: “A security guard at Tesco at Kingston Park is informed that the defendant has come out of a nearby B&M with a Henry hoover he hasn’t paid for.

“The defendant then tries to pick up a 50in-TV and carries it towards the front entrance. He was questioned by security and detained.”

In reply to Judge Garland’s comments, Tumilty said: “It’s my alcohol.”

Tumilty pleaded guilty to two charges of theft from a shop and was sentenced to a 12-month community order.

It carries a requirement of 20 days of rehabilitation work with the Probation Service and a six-month alcohol treatment programme.

He was told he must pay a £95 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

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