Prolific shoplifter stole more than £2,000-worth of drinks from same Greggs store

Detailed summary

Tiffany O'Neill has so far been arrested and taken to court 11 times and has been charged with 69 theft offences, but has been allowed to walk free thanks to new rules requiring short sentences to be suspended.

A serial shoplifter who stole more than £2,000 of drinks from a single Greggs in London has avoided prison.

Tiffany O’Neill has so far been arrested and taken to court 11 times and charged with 69 theft offences.

But she has been allowed to walk free thanks to new rules requiring short sentences to be suspended.

O’Neill, 28, was caught on CCTV raiding fridges at the Greggs branch in Brixton for soft drinks including Lucozade and Innocent smoothies.

She appeared at Croydon Magistrates’ Court today, where she pleaded guilty to 80 offences.

But the prolific thief got off with a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

She is also barred from all Gregg’s stores nationwide for two years and from entering Brixton town centre.

In every court case bar one she has been granted bail and allowed to walk free, only to return to the Gregg’s on Electric Avenue to steal more.

She had been banned from Lambeth and ordered to wear a GPS tag to track her movements but the device was never fitted.

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