'Prolific' Buxton thief sentenced

Thomas James O’Brien, of Fairfield Road, Buxton appeared at Derbyshire Magistrates court, where he has been sentenced to 26 weeks in prison and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154 for various theft offences commited at stores in Buxton town centre and for resisting arrest.

PC Podmore from the Buxton Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “This is a good result as we know the distress that O’Brien has caused staff working locally in shops in Buxton town centre, due to being a prolific thief, and the sentence will give some respite.

“As a safer neighbourhood team, we will always be looking at working with stores and partner agencies in the town centre to address offending of a similar nature, and to see what strategies we can bring in to address these problems.”