Peterborough thief who stole charity box on Christmas day is jailed

A prolific Peterborough thief who stole a charity collection box on Christmas Day as part of her spree in Peterborough has been jailed.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Mar 2020, 13:58 BST
Teresa GaskinTeresa Gaskin
Teresa Gaskin

Teresa Gaskin, 48, entered a property in Stan Rowing Court, Stanground, on 2 December.

She asked the residents if she could use the phone as her car had broken down, and while the victim was distracted Gaskin took her handbag and ran.

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On 21 December Gaskin stole a bicycle that had been left outside a house in Westgate, Peterborough.

Then on 25 December she broke into a hair salon in Wentworth Street, Peterborough. She stole cash from the till and the money from a charity support box for cancer sufferers.

Finally on 29 December she broke into a charity shop in Whittlesey where she took more cash.

Gaskin, of no fixed abode, was linked to the crimes from forensic evidence and CCTV. She was arrested on 16 January.

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She pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary and one count of theft at Peterborough Crown Court last Tuesday (3 March) and was jailed for three years.

DC Pete Wise said: “Gaskin is the epitome of an opportunistic burglar and she was brazen and heartless in her crimes.

“The fact all she was thinking about on Christmas Day was stealing says a lot about her. I’m pleased she is behind bars.”

For online burglary prevention advice visit: www.cambs.police.uk/A-Z/Burglary

Anyone with information about burglary should call police on 101 or visit www.cambs.police.uk/report alternatively, contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.