More jail time for ‘persistent’ Champagne thieves

Two thieves have been found guilty of stealing over £1,300 worth of Champagne from Co-op stores across West Wales.

Ashley Boyle, 29 and Stuart Forbes, 37, who were described as being “organised and sophisticated” thieves, pleaded guilty to three charges of theft from Co-op stores in Cross Hands, Llandovery and Lampeter, according to The Carmarthen Journal.

The Champagnes stolen included Moët & Chandon, Veuve Cliquot and Dom Pérignon.

The pair were already serving a 12-month sentence for a prior series of Champagne thefts and were due to be released on home detention curfew on 30 August. Deputy district judge Neil Thomas (of Llanelli Magistrates Court) subsequently extended their jail time by nine months.

Prosecutor Dennis Davies told the court of their thefts from the different Co-ops; Cross Hands on November 12, Llandovery on March 30 and in Lampeter on 9 April.

Davies said that “both defendants were traced from CCTV footage and stills, which clearly showed these defendants going into the stores and stealing Champagne”.

The men told the police when interviewed about the stolen Champagne that “it was all drunk by them”, Davies added.

Boyle and Forbes appeared in May at a Pembrokeshire court, as David Elvy (in mitigation) explained, “there was a series of offences where Champagne was stolen from Co-op stores in this area, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion” but because the men “couldn’t remember every single store they had been to” they were “unable to help police at that stage”.