Epping Forest & Brentwood: Prolific shoplifter banned from all Essex BP and Shell garages for five years

A prolific Epping shoplifter has been jailed and banned from entering all BP and Shell garages in Essex for five years after being arrested by a keen-eyed local policing team officer in Brentwood on his birthday.

Following a comprehensive investigation by Epping Forest Neighbourhood Policing Team, Joseph Seymour, 28, was left with no choice but to plead guilty at court to 11 charges of shop theft in Debden, Epping and Brentwood, totalling £2,868.42.

Seymour, of no fixed address, was jailed by Southend magistrates on 23 July for a total of 12 months. They also imposed a five-year criminal behaviour order which forbids him from entering any BP or Shell garage in Essex for any reason during that time and ordered him to pay a £187 victim surcharge.

The court heard Seymour was arrested on Warley Hill in Brentwood on July 21 by an officer from Brentwood Local Policing Team just 10 minutes after police received reports of him having stolen £1,500 of skincare products from Boots in the High Street.

He also admitting stealing £1,279.32 of items from the shelves and refrigerator section from the BP petrol station shop in The Broadway, Debden, on nine occasions between 14 May and 25 May. He also admitted stealing £89.10 of alcohol from the Shell garage shop in Epping High Street.

Investigating officer PC Amber Forrow says:

“Seymour is a prolific offender but our teams caught up with him and made him face the consequences of his stealing.
“We were able to provide the court with good-quality CCTV evidence and witness statements which backed up our application for the criminal behaviour order.
“I hope staff in the stores he targeted feel safer now he’s been banned from entering them and know that he could be jailed again if he enters them at any time in the next five years.”

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