Ilford Lane thief jailed for 21 months after getaway taxi stays stationary

A opportunistic thief who stole hundreds of pounds of razors and shower gel from an Ilford Lane shop was caught after the taxi he called to flee the scene failed to drive off.

Sean Williams, 37, was jailed for 21 months on Tuesday (19) at Snaresbrook Crown Court after spotting Shan Groceries was open after four youths forced the door.

Williams began loading carrier bags with goods, and then ordered a taxi to help him transport the items from the shop.

CCTV footage showed Williams making three trips to and from the taxi laden with bags, and a further three bags were found ready packed in the shop when the police arrived.

Gwen Williamson, prosecuting, said: “When he was interviewed, he told police ‘I’m going to prison, I just walked in there, you’ve got to believe me’.”

She added: “He said later ‘I thought I could take some stuff and no-one would care’.”

Williams was caught with £307.11 of goods on him, although all goods were recovered and returned to the owner.

The four youths who had originally broken into the shop were never identified.

Police had stopped Williams just weeks before attempting to get into a Mercedes after he had been spotted trying the car doors of vehicles on Winifred Road in Chadwell Heath.

He gave a false name so that police would not know he was subject to an anti-social behaviour him banning him from entering cars without the owner’s consent, but one of the officers recognised him.

Ms Williamson said: “In interviews he said he’d given a false name because he was p***ed off – he was always getting stopped by the police.”

He has 41 convictions for 81 offences fating back to 1995, including theft, robbery, aggravated vehicle taking and resisting arrest.