West Kingsdown man stole shopping trolley full of food from supermarket

A man has been handed a community order after admitting to stealing £400 of food from a supermarket in Longfield.

Michael Scott Smith, 52, from London Road in West Kingsdown entered the store in Station Road at 4.30pm on 28 November 2012. 

He filled a trolley with groceries, thought to be worth around £400, and then left without paying.

In the car park, he and a woman together lifted the whole trolley and the stolen goods into a 4x4 and drove off. 

The trolley was later found, abandoned and empty, near Longfield railway station.

The crime was recorded on store CCTV, and Smith was instantly recognised when he returned to the same store on 5 December.

This time he filled a trolley with £230 of joints of meat but was confronted by the manager. 

Smith left the store without his trolley – but not before the details of his vehicle were noted so they could be passed to Kent Police for them to investigate the earlier crime.

Smith's 4x4, a W-registration Daihatsu Terios, was placed on a list of known vehicles and spotted in Dartford on 14 December. 

He was quickly arrested and taken to North Kent Police Station where he admitted to the offence from 28 November.

At Dartford Magistrates' Court on Monday 14 January, he pleaded guilty to one charge of shoplifting.

He received a supervisory community order and was ordered to repay the supermarket chain £200 for their lost goods.

PC Tony Quilter, of the Neighbourhood Policing Team in Longfield, said: "This was the right result. We're working hard to curb shoplifting in Longfield and this detection shows again the value of CCTV."