Latest news with #PatrickVerry
The Independent
22-05-2025
- The Independent
Watch shocking moment prolific Greggs shoplifter's arrest leads to lifetime ban
A prolific Greggs shoplifter was banned from every store in England and Wales after he was caught in the act by the police, who recorded the moment of arrest in shocking footage. Patrick Verry, 33, of no fixed address, was trying to stash multiple drinks bottles in his plastic bag from the store in Wood Green, north London, on 15 May. A plain clothes officer reprimanded him, to which he replied 'whatever mate', before the undercover officers restrained him and placed him under arrest. He then insisted that he was 'not resisting', before saying: 'I apologise bruv, I'm sorry.' The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to six counts of theft from the same store at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on Friday (16 May) and was banned from all Greggs across England and Wales.
Sky News
21-05-2025
- Sky News
Man banned from every Greggs in England and Wales
Why you can trust Sky News A prolific shoplifter has been banned from every Greggs in England and Wales after being caught stealing from there seven times, police have said. Patrick Verry, 33, of no fixed address, was caught in the act by plain clothes officers at a Greggs store in Wood Green, north London, on 15 May. Bodycam footage of the incident shows him taking several items from the fridge in his bag and walking out without paying. When the officers first approach him, he says "whatever mate", until they begin to restrain him and place him under arrest. Realising they are police officers, Verry pleads that he is "not resisting" and says: "I apologise bruv, I'm sorry." He had been seen stealing from the same Greggs on the shop's CCTV six times previously. He pleaded guilty to six counts of theft from the shop at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on 16 May and was banned from all Greggs throughout England and Wales. Releasing the bodycam video on social media, the Metropolitan Police described the outcome as the "end of his sausage roll era". Another man banned from Sainsbury's, Boots and Co-op In a separate probe, they identified another man, Winston Wright, 44, who had stolen more than £2,500 in goods at various shops over four months. He was spotted in Deptford, southeast London, by a PCSO, who arrested him. Wright, from Lewisham, pleaded guilty to eight counts of shoplifting and one count of commercial burglary at Croydon Magistrates Court on 6 May. He was jailed for three months, fined £200, and banned from entering the Royal Borough of Greenwich, as well as every Sainsbury's, Boots, and Co-op in England and Wales for three years. Chief Inspector Rav Pathania, the Metropolitan Police's lead for tackling retail crime, said: "The Met is focused on tackling the most prolific shoplifters like Wright and Verry. "They cause fear to retail workers and their offending has a negative impact on communities. "We continue to work with local business owners to investigate reports of shoplifting, understand concerns and use different tactics to crackdown, including targeted operations and regular patrols."
Sky News
21-05-2025
- Sky News
Prolific shoplifter banned from every Greggs in England and Wales
A prolific shoplifter has been banned from every Greggs in England and Wales after being caught stealing from there seven times, police have said. Patrick Verry, 33, of no fixed address, was caught in the act by plain clothes officers at a Greggs store in Wood Green, north London, on 15 May. Bodycam footage of the incident shows him taking several items from the fridge in his bag and walking out without paying. When the officers first approach him, he says "whatever mate", until they begin to restrain him and place him under arrest. Realising they are police officers, Verry pleads that he is "not resisting" and says: "I apologise bruv, I'm sorry." He had been seen stealing from the same Greggs on the shop's CCTV six times previously. He pleaded guilty to six counts of theft from the shop at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on 16 May and was banned from all Greggs throughout England and Wales. Releasing the bodycam video on social media, the Metropolitan Police described the outcome as the "end of his sausage roll era". Another man banned from Sainsbury's, Boots and Co-op In a separate probe, they identified another man, Winston Wright, 44, who had stolen more than £2,500 in goods at various shops over four months. He was spotted in Deptford, southeast London, by a PCSO, who arrested him. Wright, from Lewisham, pleaded guilty to eight counts of shoplifting and one count of commercial burglary at Croydon Magistrates Court on 6 May. He was jailed for three months, fined £200, and banned from entering the Royal Borough of Greenwich, as well as every Sainsbury's, Boots, and Co-op in England and Wales for three years. Chief Inspector Rav Pathania, the Metropolitan Police's lead for tackling retail crime, said: "The Met is focused on tackling the most prolific shoplifters like Wright and Verry. "They cause fear to retail workers and their offending has a negative impact on communities. "We continue to work with local business owners to investigate reports of shoplifting, understand concerns and use different tactics to crackdown, including targeted operations and regular patrols."
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Telegraph
Shoplifter banned from every Greggs for raiding same shop seven times
A shoplifter has been banned from every Greggs in England and Wales after raiding the same shop seven times. Patrick Verry, 33, was caught stealing from a branch of the pastry shop on Wood Green High Road, in north London, on May 15. He pleaded guilty to six counts of theft at Highbury Corner magistrates' court the following day. It comes as the latest official figures show more than 500,000 shoplifting offences were reported to police in one year for the first time. In another investigation, the Met Police arrested a 44-year-old man who stole more than £2,500 worth of goods from stores over four months. Winston Wright was banned from entering any Sainsbury's, Boots and Co-op in England and Wales for three years under a criminal order. He was also banned from entering the Royal Borough of Greenwich for three years, jailed for three months and fined £200. Wright pleaded guilty to eight counts of shoplifting and one count of commercial burglary at Croydon magistrates' court on May 6. Officers gathered CCTV from various stores during the investigation which helped identify Wright as the offender. Chief Insp Rav Pathania, the Met Police's lead for tackling retail crime, said: 'The Met is focused on tackling the most prolific shoplifters like Wright and Verry. They cause fear to retail workers and their offending has a negative impact on communities. 'We continue to work with local business owners to investigate reports of shoplifting, understand concerns and use different tactics to crackdown, including targeted operations and regular patrols.' Shoplifting incidents cost corner shops £316 million last year, according to the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), with 6.2 million thefts recorded, up from 5.6 million the prior year. Stores also faced more than 59,000 incidents of violence and 1.2 million incidents of verbal abuse. A total of 516,971 shoplifting offences were logged by forces last year, up 20 per cent from 429,873 in 2023, and equivalent to more than two offences a minute, based on average store opening hours. James Lowman, the ACS chief executive, previously told The Telegraph: 'The levels of theft, abuse and violence experienced by retailers over the last year makes for shocking reading, but it will not surprise our members who are living it on a daily basis. In May, it was revealed that food retailers have seen a 'massive' increase in pensioner shoplifters over the last year, according to Kingdom Security. John Nussbaum, director of service for retail at Kingdom Security, said his staff were seeing a 'different sort of shoplifter now' as the cost of living 'pushes people to something they've never done before'.
The Sun
21-05-2025
- The Sun
Thief banned from every Greggs store in Britain after targeting one shop SEVEN times as cops launch crackdown
A SERIAL thief has been barred from every Greggs in England and Wales after repeatedly targeting the same bakery in a shameless crime spree. Patrick Verry, 33, is now forbidden from entering any of the high street baker's hundreds of branches following a court order brought by the Met Police. 9 9 He was caught in the act last week by officers inside a Greggs shop in Wood Green, North London, after striking the location seven times. Verry was arrested on the spot and brought before Highbury Magistrates' Court the following day, where he admitted to six counts of theft from the same Greggs store. Police described him as one of the capital's 'most prolific shoplifters' — and now he's banned from every Greggs outlet across the country in a move to protect staff and customers. The order comes as part of a new Met Police blitz on retail crime amid soaring shoplifting rates nationwide. Chief Inspector Rav Pathania, the Met's retail crime lead, said: 'The Met is focused on tackling the most prolific shoplifters like Verry. "They cause fear to retail workers and their offending has a negative impact on communities.' He continued: 'We continue to work with local business owners to investigate reports of shoplifting, understand concerns and use different tactics to crackdown, including targeted operations and regular patrols." The ban on Verry comes as The Sun lifts the lid on the true scale of the shoplifting crisis crippling British high streets. Our undercover investigation found Greggs shops across the country being stripped of stock in broad daylight, with some stores experiencing a theft every 20 minutes. At one busy location in South London, a thief was seen stuffing doughnuts and drinks into his pockets before barging past staff and walking out unfazed. In another shocking clip filmed in Tooting, a brave female Greggs manager tried to stop a thief who was carrying several bottles of Coca-Cola. She shouted: 'You're not having all of that,' as the crook tried to leave. He coolly replied: 'Yeah I'm walking out with them, watch me.' Customers looked on in silence, too scared to step in. A witness said: 'There were two grown men just stood by the tills. "Everyone was just silent. "No one said a word. People are just afraid now.' 9 9 9 9 The Met later confirmed it was not alerted to the Tooting incident, which happened in August, highlighting just how many shoplifting cases go unreported. Our reporters saw similar scenes play out in branches from Newcastle to Brighton, with thieves helping themselves to hot food, drinks and sandwiches without even trying to hide it. In Stockwell, South London, one man was caught on camera filling his coat with products before grabbing two boxes of jam doughnuts worth £3 each and fleeing during the lunchtime rush. A cookie grab, then fist bump THEFTS we saw in just two days at Greggs bakery in Stockwell South London. Wednesday, 11.45am: Man strolls in, picks up a box of doughnuts and walks out. 1.30pm: A man lines his pockets with doughnuts and products from the fridge. A shop worker pleads with him to pay. The thug threatens him and barges out. 3.45pm: Two men raid the fridges, with one pinching Lucozade bottles, while the other scoffs chicken bites. 4pm: A pair of teenage schoolchildren take a Lucozade drink and hot food. Thursday, 11.10am: Two men walk in and start grabbing hot food and drinks. They appear to queue before also taking doughnut and walking out without paying. 11.30am: An OAP pretends to be on the phone before snatching hot food. 1.30pm: A man grabs three bottles of Lucozade, hot food and cookies. Challenged, he gives back the food and drink, gives the worker a fist bump and strolls out eating a cookie 2pm: A man steals two baguettes and a bottle of Coca-Cola. As he leaves, a public address states: 'Shoplifting will not be tolerated.' In Worthing, West Sussex, two men repeatedly walked in and out of Greggs helping themselves to hot food from the display cabinets. On Brighton's Queen's Road, one crook walked off with two trays of wedges in front of a stunned staff member. 'Average day,' the employee said when asked about it. Minutes later, another thief ran out with two trays of wedges and a sandwich, while yet another masked man sprinted off carrying food as helpless staff shouted after him. In Southampton, a man entered just after midday, grabbed four hot food items and said: 'Sorry guys, I'm homeless, I need to eat,' before walking straight out the door. In many cases, Greggs staff are told not to intervene directly with thieves for safety reasons. One insider told us: 'They've been told not to chase anyone, not to engage. It's heartbreaking for the team.' Astonishingly, just 350 people have been prosecuted for stealing from Greggs in the last six months. Of those, only 111 received immediate or suspended jail time — and most had long criminal records. Greggs has started introducing extra security measures in stores hit hardest by crime. That includes removing self-serve fridges, placing chilled food behind the till, and trialling bouncers in some branches. 55k thefts every day across UK By Julia Atherley BRITAIN is facing a shop- lifting epidemic with a record 55,000 incidents a day. In 2024, it cost retailers £2.2billion, up from £1.8billion in 2023, figures show. Offences reported by police in England and Wales have jumped 23 per cent to more than 492,000 in the past 12 months, says the Office for National Statistics. The scourge is being driven by the perception that offenders are rarely caught or punished. Graham Wynn, of the British Retail Consortium, described shoplifting as a 'major trigger for violence and abuse against staff'. Mr Wynn said: 'The rise in organised crime is a significant concern, with gangs hitting stores one after another. 'Sadly, such theft is not a victimless crime; it pushes up the cost for honest shoppers and damages the customer experience.' Labour has promised to make assaulting a retail worker an offence and treat more seriously thefts of goods worth less than £200. One staff member said: 'It's like we're on the front line. You're trying to sell sausage rolls but you're looking over your shoulder constantly.' Greggs boss Roisin Currie confirmed the company is now using facial recognition technology to catch thieves and pass images to police. 'We've now got a system where we can take photos of people committing theft on the shop floor and that then instantly goes to the police,' she told The Sun. The bakery chain is also investing in body cameras for workers and running trials with a 24-hour shoplifting helpline. A Greggs spokeswoman said: 'Shoplifting is an industry-wide issue and we take it extremely seriously. The safety of our colleagues and customers remains our absolute priority.' Politicians have backed The Sun's investigation. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: 'This is an important and timely investigation from The Sun, exposing just how bad the shoplifting epidemic has become. "There has to be consequences for this appalling criminality.' Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson added: 'Retail workers should never feel unsafe at work. That is why we're taking robust action to tackle shop theft and protect workers.' She confirmed new laws are coming under the government's Crime and Policing Bill, which will create a specific offence for assaulting shop staff and scrap the £200 threshold that previously gave low-level shoplifters 'effective immunity.' Meanwhile, the Met has released dramatic new footage showing suspects sprinting from stores clutching bottles, sandwiches and snacks as part of a wider crackdown on repeat retail offenders. And police chiefs say they're not stopping with Verry, more bans could be coming for other prolific shoplifters as efforts ramp up to restore order on Britain's battered high streets. 9 9
