Couple targeted Peterborough petrol filling station and stole hundreds of pounds of goods

Cambridgeshire police say that Lewis Howden (40) and Charlotte Ritchie (39) stole almost £500 of goods from the BP filling station, in Bretton.

Police say the thefts happened across four visits to the same filling station between February 5 and February 10.

A police spokesperson said that the two were arrested at their home in Tyesdale, Bretton, on February 11 and charged with the offences but bailed by a court pending a further hearing, which Ritchie failed to attend.

He said: “While on court bail, Howden committed a further three thefts in Peterborough - at Waitrose, in Mayors Walk, West Town, Peterborough, on February 23, Home Bargains, in Bourges Boulevard, on February 24, and Next, in Brotherhood Retail Park, on March 2.

The pair were arrested again on March 11 and appeared at Huntingdon Magistrates’ Court the following day.

Howden was jailed for 10 months and ordered to pay £207.99 in compensation after admitting seven thefts.

Ritchie was ordered to pay £234 in compensation and handed a two-year conditional discharge, meaning that if she commits another crime during that period, she can be sentenced for the four thefts, which she also admitted.

Afterwards, PC Jack Jenkins, who investigated, said: “I would like to thank the businesses impacted by the pair’s offending for continually reporting incidents to us.

He added: "This helps us to identify those involved and put them before the courts.”