Woman caught shoving 400 Jellycats down her trousers fined £120

A thief who stole nearly £1,000 worth of Jellycat toys has been fined £120.

Samantha Lawrence went on a two-day spree, stealing dozens of soft toys from two businesses by shoving them down her trousers.

The 38-year-old stole toys worth around £650 from St Peter’s Garden Centre in Worcester on June 7, before taking almost £300 worth of the toys from The Valley shopping centre in Evesham in two separate thefts on June 8.

Incredible CCTV caught Lawrence as she frantically stole the popular soft toys, shoving them into bags as well as down her trousers before running out of the shop.

She even tried to force a large £75 rabbit-themed bag into her waistband.

She was identified using the footage and when police arrived at her home in Norton, Evesham, officers found hundreds of stolen Jellycats.

In total, Lawrence stole toys worth £948.28.

Lauren Millichip, prosecuting, told Worcester magistrates court: ‘Officers attended her address and found a quantity of Jellycats, some of these she said she had bought.

‘She told officers she had gone into the stores with the intention of stealing the Jellycats.’

Chris Aggri, defending, said the CCTV of Lawrence’s theft had gone viral online and the response had caused her mental health to suffer. She is now taking medication for anxiety, the court heard.

He explained: ‘She has been targeted on social media and her mental health has suffered as a result.

‘She has learned her lesson and is deeply remorseful.’

Lawrence admitted three counts of theft and was ordered to pay compensation to the shops she stole from. She was also fined £120 and ordered to pay a £48 victim surcharge.

Chair of the bench Caroline Taylor said: ‘We’ve listened to what’s been said. The matters are serious, you have deliberately targeted the stores, one on two separate occasions.

‘They are not insignificant amounts of money.

‘You will pay compensation of £657.79 to St Peter’s and £292.49 to The Valley.

‘We’ve taken into account your guilty plea, so a fine of £180 has been reduced to £120 due to that guilty plea.

‘You will also pay a £48 victim surcharge.’

Speaking to Metro at the time, a manager at St Peter’s Garden Centre said they checked their CCTV after the shop alarm went off to find Lawrence had been ‘scouting out’ their large selection of the soft toys.

Jamie Armstrong explained: ‘At first we were looking back at the footage and it was one or two little Jellycats, popping them down the trousers.

‘Then you get to 15 minutes in and she goes for it. She walks in as a regular woman and walks out looking eight months pregnant.

‘We are a family-run garden centre so we’re not as powerful at the big chains or supermarkets.

‘We don’t have as much budget for security, so it does feel like we get targeted.’

Jellycat toys have seen an explosion in popularity in recent years, with rare and retired designs being resold for hundreds of pounds.

But their high resale value has made them a target for thieves. Last December the owner of a garden centre revealed how he tracked down a shoplifter who had stolen Jellycats from his shop to sell online.

Shoplifting is at record levels with 469,788 offences recorded in England and Wales in the year to June 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics.

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