Rushden Lakes Flannels thief with expensive taste caught nicking designer brands again

A light-fingered shopper with tastes beyond his budget has been jailed after stealing designer threads from an upmarket store at Rushden Lakes.

Alan Lewis Smith-White stole clothing from Flannels worth £1,158 on April 29 this year. On the same date he damaged clothing worth £493 in the store.

A month earlier he’d also been caught stealing items worth £140 from Waterstones.

Smith-White appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court on May 3 to be sentenced for his crimes, which he admitted after originally pleading not guilty.

In total, Smith-White was given a 34-week jail term and ordered to pay £239 in costs and fees.

It’s not the first time Smith-White of Bouverie Road, Hardingstone, has been caught trying to get away with big-brand goods.

On June 11 last year he was caught stealing thirteen pairs of designed sunglasses from outlet Bicester Village and given a suspended sentence. A few days later he went back and stole another six pairs from the David Clulow store. His entire haul was worth £3,350.

The suspended sentence will now be activated because of his latest stealing spree.

Back in 2019, the 47-year-old admitted stealing multi-tools worth £73 from Waterstones in Northampton.

And in 2020 he stole Lay-Z-Spa items worth £83 from The Range, a £90 Superdry tweed jacket and more items from Waterstones, worth £116.

Then in June 2022 he stole six pairs of sunglasses from The Eye Place in Towcester, damaging their door while he did so.