Bobbies beat pinta pilferers (From Gazette & Herald)

Bobbies beat pinta pilferers

POLICE are winning the war on milk theft in Malton and Norton - with one suspect arrested just days after another appeared in court.

Angry milkmen and residents in the twin towns have been up in arms after at least 120 pints went missing from doorsteps and milk floats in a three-week period in January and February.

Last Thursday Thomas Farmer, 18, of Malton, pleaded guilty at Scarborough Magistrates' Court to three charges of theft. He had been captured on CCTV as he pilfered three pints from the doorstep of JB Motors in Wentworth Street, and also stole from two private houses on different occasions in Malton and Norton.

There was no suggestion that Farmer stole all 120 bottles. Magistrates sentenced Farmer to 40 hours' community service.

Retail Operator for JB Motors, Stuart Carruthers, who reported the crime, welcomed the news of Farmer's conviction.

Mr Carruthers said: "I'm very pleased they've got a result on this.

"We were lucky because it was caught on our security camera, and it was only three bottles. If this means people won't have to wake up and find they can't have a coffee in the morning, I think that's great."

In a separate incident in the early hours of yesterday morning, a Malton beat bobby spotted someone acting suspiciously near a milk depot on Norton Road in Norton, and arrested him on suspicion of theft. The 17-year-old youth was later reprimanded by police.

Sergeant Mike Pannett, of Malton Police, told the Gazette & Herald: "Milk theft is not the biggest crime in the world, but it creates terrible crime statistics. It will not be tolerated."

Earlier this month, Ryedale councillor Allin Jenkins, who lives in Welham Road, Norton, said he was fed up with the amount of milk thefts going on in the town.

He said: "It's good someone has been caught and convicted, and I hope anyone that's been involved in this sort of crime will take this to heart. It sends out a clear warning that it will be dealt with."

Last week, the Gazette & Herald reported how Farmer had been handed a 100-hour community punishment for stealing jewellery from a charity volunteer who took him in for the night.

Updated: 15:32 Wednesday, February 22, 2006