Vinnie Boultwood, 29, of Rochester Street, Brighton, pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court on Thursday (June 30) to three counts of stealing Apple headphones and a Dyson vacuum cleaner from the Westgate shopping centre store.

The offences were committed between December 2021 and February 2022.

The bench heard that Boultwood had been struggling with gambling debts at the time, and was effectively ‘stealing to order’ to repay what he owed.

READ MORE: Oxford John Lewis is the backdrop to robbery

His brief said he chose to target John Lewis as he ‘understood as a business it would be something they would financially recover from’.

Boultwood had shown remorse and was receiving help and support for his gambling addiction.

He was given a 12 month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work. He was ordered to pay the full value of the stolen goods – more than £1,700 – in compensation.

Chairman of the bench Caroline Jones said: “I’m not sure that John Lewis’ shareholders would feel they can absorb the cost of things being stolen.”