A man known as ‘Britain’s worst shoplifter’ has been jailed for the third time this year after his latest stealing spree saw him convicted of 20 offences.
Soma Deasley has gathered a staggering 51 shoplifting convictions since 2021 after a string of brazen thefts targeting Marks & Spencer, Matalan, the Co-op, Next and Asda stores across the country.
The 36-year-old has committed 40 offences alone since the start of 2024 and was even caught stealing four times in one month in January last year.
During a raid in April last year, Deasley was caught on CCTV attempting to steal wine and sweets from a OneStop in Peterborough when a knife fell out of his trousers.
He was seen cramming the stolen items into his backpack when the weapon clattered onto the floor. But Deasley remained seemingly oblivious as he continued to take items from the shelves and walk out without paying.
He was later handed a 24 week sentence for the incident along with two other thefts from another OneStop earlier in the month.
But Dealsey’s latest crimewave, during which he stole around £540 of goods between April 21 and May 27, has led to his longest prison stint yet.
He appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on June 2 where he was sentenced to 28 weeks in prison and ordered to pay compensation for the stolen goods.
Soma Deasley, known as ‘Britain’s worst shoplifter’, has been jailed for the third time this year after his latest stealing spree saw him convicted of 20 offences
Deasley was caught on CCTV last year attempting to steal wine and sweets from a OneStop in Peterborough
Deasley was loading his bag with goods from the convenience store when a knife fell out of his trousers
It is the latest in a sorry string of offences for the crook. On Monday February 5, 2024, he was spotted in Lincoln Road, Millfield, by response officers who were on patrol in the area in the early hours.
Knowing that he was wanted in connection with shoplifting offences, he was arrested and taken into custody for questioning.
At the time, police said he had been convicted of ten recent theft offences, with the latest four taking place the month before.
On January 24 he had entered Next in Brotherhood Retail Park and stole £300 worth of bedding, before returning to the store a few hours later and making off with three jumpers worth £135.
Five days later he targeted the same store, this time stealing clothing worth £150.
The following day he entered Asda Living in the Brotherhood Retail Park and filled a bag with £257 worth of candles.
He was challenged by security as he went to leave the store but made off.
Then, he admitted four counts of theft from a shop at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court and was sentenced to ten weeks in prison.
Deasley stole £300 worth of bedding, and clothing worth £285 from this Next store last year
At the time, PC Rob Reay, from the force’s Prevention and Vulnerability Hub, said: ‘Deasley is persistent in his offending, and despite interventions and offers of support he continues to commit crime to fund addiction.
‘For repeat offenders such as Deasley, we are able to build an application for a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) which we will now be taking to the courts with the intention of getting him banned from entering the areas he targets.’
In May last year, police released video footage of Deasley stealing sweets from the OneStop in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, on April 28 when a knife clearly falls from his trousers.
Deasley, of no fixed address, was later charged with possession of a knife, three counts of theft from a shop and possession of crack cocaine after two white wraps were found on him upon arrest.
He was found to have stolen a total of £147.20 worth of laundry products from another OneStop on two occasions earlier in the month and was given 24 weeks in jail.
But Deasley was back in trouble with the law in December 2024 after turning his attention to petrol stations.
He entered Esso, in Welland Road, Dogsthorpe, on November 9 and stole numerous boxes of Ferrero Rocher by putting them in a bag and down his trousers, before hiding near the exit doors until a customer came through so he could run out.
He stole from Esso again on December 1, and stole twice from BP, in Bretton Way, Bretton, between November 14 and 28.
Deasley’s knife, which was found on the shop floor by another customer and reported to the police following his stealing spree
He appeared at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on Friday December 6, where he was jailed for eight weeks after admitting the offences.
But as soon as he was let out he was at it again – stealing £500 of gear from shops in Peterborough in two weeks.
He stole from One Stop, in St Pauls Road, New England, four times, and Co-op, in Hampton Gardens, once, between January 24 and February 6, 2025, taking £583.15 worth of sweets, cleaning and hygiene products.
Then, he was sentenced to ten weeks in prison after he admitted the five thefts at Huntingdon Magistrates’ Court on Monday February 10.
However he was sent back to prison for ten weeks in March after he was caught on CCTV stealing £270 worth of items from One Stop, in St Pauls Road, New England, over two thefts on March 15 and 18.
He admitted four counts of theft from a shop at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on Friday March 21.
At the time, PC Bethany Page, who investigated, said: ‘Deasley has been convicted of nine shoplifting offences so far this year and was jailed only last month for theft.’
Experts have warned that repeatedly imprisoning shoplifters doesn’t tackle the root cause of the behaviour.
Around 70% of repeat offending is thought to be caused by addiction to Class A drugs – typically heroin and crack cocaine.
‘Custody is not a panacea for prolific shoplifting and is unlikely to break the cycle of offending,’ said Cardiff University law lecturer Frederick Cram, who has researched new ways to break the cycle.
The last few years have been a shoplifting nightmare for High Street shops.
Since the pandemic, the Russia Ukraine conflict and soaring inflation, theft has soared in the UK, recently hitting the highest level ever seen.
A huge 516,971 offences were logged by police forces last year, up 20 per cent from 429,873 in 2023.
The figure is the highest since current police records began 22 years ago in 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Many offences also go unrecorded, meaning the issue is likely to be far, far worse.
