Serial thief snared: Wirral man forced into drug rehab after repeated Tesco food raids

Wirral man admits £250 Tesco thefts; court orders rehab, payback and community service

A Wirral man who repeatedly stole food from a Tesco Express has been handed a 12-month community sentence with mandatory drug rehabilitation after admitting to five separate thefts.

John Davies, 49, of Old Chester Road, Rock Ferry, appeared at Chester Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to stealing more than £250 worth of food between May and July this year. The court heard that Davies walked into the Tesco Express in Neston on five different occasions, taking food and leaving without paying. The thefts included one haul worth £90, another of £60, two thefts valued at £40 each, and a final incident totalling £25. Prosecutor Elisha Bethell said Davies acted in the same manner each time, brazenly helping himself to food before walking out. She added that the 49-year-old already had multiple theft convictions.

Davies’s solicitor argued that he was entitled to credit for his early guilty plea and noted that he had already been placed on a community order earlier this year. The defence said he was currently doing well on that order, an assessment supported by a probation officer who told the bench that Davies was engaging positively with the programme.

But Chairman of the bench John Rooney said that the five thefts still required punishment. Magistrates revoked the earlier community order and imposed a fresh 12-month sentence. This includes a six-month drug rehabilitation programme and 25 activity days aimed at tackling offending behaviour. Davies was also ordered to repay the £255 value of the stolen goods, alongside a £114 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs. Rooney told the court that although probation reported progress, the repeated thefts had to be addressed with a stricter order.

The court acknowledged that Davies’s long record of theft is tied to substance misuse, with the new sentence aiming to combine accountability with rehabilitation. Probation officers will monitor his compliance with treatment and activities throughout the next year in an effort to reduce the risk of reoffending.

Food thefts, often dismissed as minor crime, can cause substantial losses for retailers and wider impacts on local communities. Tesco stores and other supermarkets across the region have reported rising shoplifting levels, and magistrates have repeatedly stressed that habitual offenders will not go unpunished. In this case, however, the court balanced punishment with support, aiming to steer Davies away from crime while ensuring he compensates for his actions.

Davies, who has faced multiple convictions for shoplifting in the past, showed little reaction as the order was confirmed. For the next 12 months, he will be under probation supervision, undergo drug treatment, and repay what he stole. The court’s decision underscores a growing use of community orders with treatment requirements to deal with crimes driven by addiction. Whether John Davies uses the chance to turn his life around remains uncertain, but the message from magistrates was clear: repeat shoplifters will face consequences, even if the door to rehabilitation is kept open.