Man cleared of shoplifting in Bourne

An alleged shoplifter has been cleared of targeting three supermarkets on the same day.

Jason Stokes, 24, had denied three theft charges which were all alleged to have occurred on February 24 this year.

On each occasion Stokes was accused of stealing toothbrush heads, skincare products and kits which help people stop smoking from the supermarkets.

The stores from which the items were allegedly stolen were Tesco in Cherry Holt Road, Bourne; Sainsbury's at the Riverside Centre in Southgate, Sleaford; and a second Sainsbury's supermarket in London Road, Grantham.

Stokes, of Wordsworth Road, Swinton, Greater Manchester, also denied a fourth charge of stealing similar items from a supermarket in Macclesfield, Cheshire, on the following day February 25.

A hearing at Lincoln Crown Court was told a thorough review of the evidence against Stokes had been conducted by the Crown Prosecution Service and a decision had been taken to drop the charges against him.

Not guilty verdicts were entered against Stokes on each of the charges by the judge, Recorder Graham Huston, today (Monday, September 11).

Stokes failed to attend the hearing in person because of a positive Covid-19 test for which he produced a medical note.

Recorder Huston told Stokes, who attended the hearing via a video-link from his parents’ home in East Nottinghamshire, that the proceedings against him were now over.