Thief swiped bank card and uses it to buy food from Greggs

A thief banged on the door of a man’s house before barging in and taking his bank card, which she then used to make around £80’s worth of purchases - including grabbing a bite to eat from Greggs.

Jamie-Lee Hitchings, 26, turned up unannounced at the Rhondda home of Michael Pritchard at around 6am on 1 June.

Pritchard, who had been sleeping, said he was woken up by a loud knocking at the door and discovered it was Hitchings, who was known to him.

Hitchings then let herself into the property and walked into the victim’s bedroom.

Once inside, she removed something from the bedside table but refused to tell Pritchard what it was.

It was only after she left he realised it was his bank card.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that Hitchings then used the stolen card to make a number of purchases before the card was cancelled at 9am.

Prosecutor Amelia Pike told the court Hitchings spent £51.09 at Spar, £4.09 purchase at Costcutter and £6.25 at Texaco. She paid for two Stagecoach bus tickets, at £3.40 and £9, and spent £3.80 in Greggs.

South Wales Police

Hitchings was arrested the next day, but denied theft, telling cops that Pritchard had told her to use the card for cash back and that he would claim it back.

However, in court Hitchings pleaded guilty to theft and six counts of fraud.

The court was told she had 22 previous convictions including 10 offences of theft, burglary, and shoplifting.

In mitigation, Richard Ace said the amount of money involved in the case was relatively low and that his client had been on remand for three-and-a-half months awaiting trial.

He told the court that Hitchings had had a difficult upbringing and that there was violence in her home as a child, which led to her taking drugs as a teenager.

Pixabay/Tomek

Ace said that following the death of her mother in 2021, Hitchings had swore off drugs and had been off them ever since.

He said Hitchings had battled with her mental health in the past and had previously been diagnosed with PTSD.

Recorder Richard Kember sentenced Hitchings to two months in prison. However, as she had already spent longer than that on remand she was released from custody.

Following her release, Ace told the court his client planned to move out of Wales and to Worcestershire where she has family.

Topics: UK News, Crime

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]