TK Maxx security guard feared he would be bitten by clothes thief

A Burnley clothes thief who tried to make off with almost £80 worth of goods from a local retail store also made the security guard who apprehended him fear he was going to be bitten, a court heard.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Sep 2016, 20:30 BST

Forty-nine-year-oldHoward William Crabtree attempted to leave the premises of the TK Maxx branch on Church Street in Burnley without paying for some trainers and a T-shirt, the hearing was told.

When security guard Sean Brodie attempted to apprehend Crabtree and prevent him from escaping with the goods,

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Crabtree allgedly swung a carrier bag at Brodie before making a conspicuous move towards his arm with his head, leading the shocked guard to believe that Crabtree intended to sink his teeth into him.

Mr. Crabtree, then of Gainsborough Avenue in southern Burnley, then fled the scene before he was detained by police, to whom he was said to have commented: “It’s only shoplifting, so what?”

The stolen goods were subsequently recovered and, thankfully, Mr Brodie was not injured in the scuffle with Crabtree, who - prior to this incident - had not been in trouble with the law since 2013, but who swore at people who would not give him cigarettes in a separate incident just four days before his TK Maxx soiree.

Mr Crabtree, who has received a 12 month conditional charge as a result of his actions, admitted to the theft of trainers and a T-shirt ammounting to a combined worth of £79.98 and common assault on Saturday, August 6th, and also admitted to being drunk and disorderly on Stanley Street in Burnley, on Tuesday, August 2nd.