Three prolific thieves have been sent to prison following a crackdown on shoplifting crime after one became violent. 

One of the thieves, Shelby Rodgers, 31, stole bottles of prosecco, tubs of Lurpak and a variety of Luxury gift sets from a one stop corner shop, hitting the shop three times over a single six hour period. 

After being previously banned on her first shoplifting offence, she continued to raid the store until her third visit where she threw jars of coffee and proceeded to kick and punch her victim causing a facial injury. 

PC Hazel Smith, a member of the dedicated retail crime team, said:  “They shouldn’t have to deal with this when they go to work, and they definitely shouldn’t face violence in the workplace when they ask thieves to put back items they have stolen.” 

Rodgers was later  jailed for 24 weeks at Doncasters Magistrates’ Court last wednesday, after pleading guilty to three counts of theft, assault and failure to provide a sample for a drug test. 

PC Smith added: “We won’t stand for retail crime here in Doncaster and we will continue pursuing shoplifters and driving down this criminal behaviour.”

Andrew Pilkington, 38, pleaded guilty to five counts of theft including items such as easter eggs and razor blades totalling hundreds of pounds across a string of supermarkets across the Doncaster area. 

Pilkington was later sentenced to 42 weeks in prison at the Doncasters Magistrates Court. 

Lee Hamshaw, 42, of Wilberforce Road, Edenthorpe, was also jailed for four months at Sheffield Magistrates Court last wednesday after pleading guilty to two counts of theft. 

Hamshaw’s offences were both caught on CCTV where he concealed items such as electric toothbrushes within his trousers and coats as well as bottles of alcohol.

A number of well known thieves have been given prison sentences following a recent crackdown on shoplifting. 

A dedicated retail crime team have been responsible for this, working directly with retailers to document and recognise patterns of behaviour in offenders across both the Sheffield and Doncaster areas.