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A shoplifter who raided seven B&Q stores for their taps will see three years of freedom go down the drain after he was jailed.
Daniel Cleveland, 33, had stolen around £16,000 worth of home supplies, mainly expensive taps over a year-long reign of terror for the high street hardware store.
Cleveland was finally caught on April 30 but his alleged partner-in-crime is still on the run – his identity unknown.
CCTV captures the thief pushing a trolley around B&Q Larkfield in Kent. He then loads the trolley with pricy sinkware before hurling the box over a fence inside the store’s garden centre.
The pair then collected the goods from the other side and escaped in a vehicle with false plates.
Picture: Metropolitan Police
Chf Insp Rav Pathania said the Met were now prioritising shoplifting, solving 92% more cases this year.
He said: ‘We work with businesses to target the most prolific offenders, as we know the fear they cause retail workers and the negative impact their offending has on communities.’
Simon Moss, B&Q security manager said the sentence sent a clear message to thieves.
‘Shoplifting is not a victimless crime’, he said.
‘B&Q is firmly committed to protecting and supporting our colleagues from the impacts of shoplifting, and to the safety and security of our customers.’
The B&Q locations Cleveland raided
20 March 2025 – theft from B&Q Larkfield in Kent
26 February 2024 – attempted theft from B&Q Larkfield in Kent
27 August 2024 – theft from B&Q Greenwich in south-east London
29 August 2024 – theft from B&Q Ashford in Kent
1 September 2024 – theft from B&Q Farnborough in Hampshire
3 September 2024 – attempted theft from B&Q Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire
23 September 2024 – attempted theft from B&Q Ashford in Kent
23 September 2024 – theft from B&Q West Thurrock in Essex
23 October 2024 – theft from B&Q Farnborough in Hampshire
13 November 2024 – theft from B&Q Braintree in Essex
12 March 2025 – theft from B&Q Greenwich in south-east London
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Officers arrested Cleveland at his home on Wednesday, 30 April.
Cleveland from Bromley pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft and three counts of attempted theft at Lewes Crown Court on Tuesday, 19 August.
He was sentenced to three years in jail on 25 September.
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