Clacton: Countrywide stores ban and jail term for prolific shoplifter

A prolific shoplifter has been banned from several store chains across England and Wales for five years, thanks to work by our specialist Business Crime Team.

Sharron Lambert, 48, was arrested in Pier Avenue, Clacton, on 5 December 2024 by a keen-eyed town centre team officer who recognised her as wanted.

And she was jailed for a total of 41 weeks when she appeared before Colchester magistrates on 19 February 2025. She admitted six shop thefts and four breaches of a previous criminal behaviour order (CBO), which had banned her from stores she’d stolen from before.

As well as jailing her, magistrates imposed a new five-year CBO, to run until 18 February 2030. This forbids Lambert from entering any Co-op, Fiveways, Iceland and Marks and Spencer store in England and Wales, any retail store within the Clacton public spaces protection order area, Costcutter in The Street, Little Clacton, and Sainsbury’s in St John’s Road, Clacton.

Sergeant Wendy Crowson, of Clacton Town Centre Team, said after the hearing:

“Lambert has a long offending history and we hope the jail term reassures staff in the stores she targets that we take reports of shoplifting seriously and we will investigate.
“We worked with our specialist Business Crime Team to apply to the court for this new criminal behaviour order so that, if Lambert continues to reoffend after her release from prison, she can be put back before a court and could be jailed again.
“Over a period of time she varied the stores she targeted but, often, not the store chains, which is why our business crime officer requested she be banned from entering those shops across the country.”

The court heard Lambert, of Chilburn Road, Clacton, had breached a previous criminal behaviour order and two suspended sentence orders imposed for previous offences when she was spotted by a Clacton Town Centre Team officer in Pier Avenue and arrested on 5 December 2024. 

Lambert admitted stealing a total of £395.17 of meat, personal hygiene items and other groceries on six occasions between 17 April and 22 November 2024 from Costcutter in The Street, Little Clacton, and the East of England Co-op stores in Frinton and Walton.

The thefts put her in breach of the suspended sentence orders (SSOs) imposed in 2023 and the criminal behaviour order (CBO), which she admitted breaching four times. Magistrates activated the SSOs and sentenced her for the new offences.

Lambert was also ordered to pay a £154 victim surcharge.

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