A THIEF stole four alloy wheels from a Malvern car garage in a bid to raise funds for Christmas presents, a court has heard.
Alfie Smith of Cales Avenue in Malvern took the £400 Ford Fiesta tyres from Motor Link on Howsell Road to put on his own vehicle and sell on for a profit.
The 35-year-old was driven to the garage on October 25 and saw the Fiesta on the forecourt so decided to remove the wheels and put them on the back seat of his car, Worcester Magistrates Court heard last Friday (November 14).
An officer from British Transport spoke to the owner of the site when the theft was reported so CCTV was viewed and the defendant subsequently identified.
Police then went to Smith’s address and found a trolley jack in the boot and the wheels in the back of the vehicle, the court was also told.
Mark Lister, defending solicitor, said: “He is not a prolific thief by any means and his offending has decreased over the years.
“This was an act of quite incredible stupidity, he acknowledges that but it was a spur of the moment thing to earn money for Christmas presents.
“It is what it is, it is a foolish theft but the property was recovered.”
Smith, who is currently serving an 18-month community order, was handed an eight-week curfew from 9pm to 7am.
District Judge Nigel Cadbury said: “Given your fairly long record and what happened on this occasion, I can’t accept it was a spur of the moment if you got someone else to drive the car to a Ford Fiesta similar to yours.
“You must have seen that vehicle at an earlier point and wanted to go back and get the alloys.”
Smith was also ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a £60 victim surcharge
