A person who stole nearly 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs has been jailed for 18 months.
Joby Pool, 32, used a metallic grinder to interrupt into an industrial unit in Telford, Shropshire, on the night of 11 February.
He then drove off in a stolen lorry cab with a trailer filled with chocolate merchandise price greater than £31,000.
At Shrewsbury Crown Court on Thursday, Pool, of Tingley, close to Leeds, was jailed by Judge Anthony Lowe for a yr and a half.
Half of that’s to be spent in jail and the opposite half on licence, together with his six months in custody counting in direction of his time behind bars.
Pool had beforehand admitted theft, prison injury and driving with out insurance coverage.
Judge Lowe added one month to be served concurrently for the prison injury offence, and added six factors to Pool’s driving licence for driving with out insurance coverage.
The court docket heard Pool had used a tractor unit that had been stolen in Yorkshire in October to tow away the trailer from an industrial unit belonging to SW Group Logistics in Stafford Park, Telford.
The stolen eggs have been then pushed on to the northbound M42, the place Pool surrendered by strolling in direction of police “with his hands up” close to junction 11.
Judge Lowe stated he was not satisfied Pool was the one particular person concerned within the planning of the theft and there was a “significant degree” of preparation.
“There was the taking of a tractor unit that was driven from Castleford down here to carry out the theft. There must have been inside information or a recce to identify the trailer and if it was worth taking,” he stated.
“An angle grinder was taken and false plates were obtained to put on the trailer. I am pretty sure others would have been involved in this enterprise.”
Defending Pool, Debra White stated he has proven “genuine remorse” for what he had performed and was sorry for the impact it had had on his household and the corporate concerned.
West Mercia Police had posted on Twitter two days after the theft detailing how they “helped save Easter” after arresting Pool.
“West Mercia Police has helped save Easter for Creme Egg fans after almost 200,000 of the chocolate treats were stolen from a unit in Stafford Park in Telford,” the power posted.
“The eggs-travagent theft took place on Saturday 11 February with the chocolate collection box thought to be worth around £40,000. Along with the Creme Eggs a number of other chocolate varieties were also stolen.
“Shortly after the theft a car, presumably purporting to be the Easter bunny, was stopped northbound on the M42 and a person was arrested on suspicion of theft.”
Source: information.sky.com”