Aldi thief who caused £3,400 of damage to steal £10 Easter eggs jailed

A burglar who caused thousands of pounds of damage when breaking into a supermarket to steal chocolate Easter eggs worth just £10 has been jailed.

Richard Simmonds forced open the automatic front doors at Aldi in Caldicot late at night when it was closed to the public.

However, he got a shock when he was confronted by a brave female member of staff who was part of a team stocktaking at the store at around 11pm.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the woman heroically kicked Easter eggs out of his hands after he had “stockpiled” them near the entrance.

Prosecuting, Amelia Pike, told the court: “The employee saw him hiding behind them. She recognised him from previous dealings with the defendant.”

Simmonds has 45 previous convictions for 103 offences, which include theft and burglary, it was revealed. Following an “alteration” with her, the defendant fled with a paltry amount of Easter eggs.

Simmonds was soon arrested by police officers attending the scene The break-in was captured on the store’s CCTV cameras.

Pike told the court it cost the supermarket £3,421.71 to repair the electric doors.

The prosecution said the raid had been planned in advance. However, Simmonds’ barrister Gareth Williams countered their argument, saying he used crime to feed his drug addiction.

The defendant, aged 40, of Old School Gardens, Rogiet, Monmouthshire pleaded guilty to burglary, which took place on Monday, March 18.

Williams told the Court: “He saw an opportunity and he took his chance. The defendant is a class A drug addict and he commits offences to feed his own habit.”

He added in mitigation: “He had the good sense to plead guilty.”

The judge, Recorder Victoria Hillier, told Simmonds: “This was mindless damage for minimal gain.”

The defendant was jailed for 13 months and told he would serve half of that time in custody before being released on licence. He must also pay a statutory victim surcharge of £187.