Thief jailed after trying to steal perfume for the third time from Peterborough’s Frasers store

Cambridgeshire police say Justine Lavell (47) had already stolen perfume twice before from the store in the Queensgate Shopping Centre when she was caught on a third occasion.

Police say that Lavell, of Chapel Street, Stanground, Peterborough, was jailed for 31 weeks having admitted two counts of theft from a shop during a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court.

A police spokesperson said Lavell had been jailed after ‘failing in a bid to complete a hat-trick of perfume thefts from the same shop.’

The spokesperson said that Lavell began by going to Frasers, in Queensgate, on January 16.

He said: “She took a selection of fragrances from a display, before picking up some clothes, going to the changing rooms and then leaving the store without paying.

"The stolen items were valued at £742.

“The following day Lavell returned to the shop and repeated the same tactic to steal more perfume worth £612.

“On January 21 she returned to the shop for a third time, but she was arrested after staff spotted her and called police.”

Afterwards, PC Greta Antanaviciute said: “This was an audacious bid from Lavell to repeatedly steal from the same shop, thinking that she would get away with it.

“I’m pleased staff spotted her on the third occasion and she was apprehended.

“We’re working with retailers in Queensgate and elsewhere in the city as we continue our efforts to combat theft from shops.”