Thief jailed for £650 wine theft

A bumbling thief has been jailed after breaking into a London restaurant and making off with 28 bottles of wine in carrier bags – leaving the most expensive one behind.

Robert Peffers stole 28 bottles of wine but left the best stuff behind.

Robert Peffers, 56, was caught on CCTV breaking into the premises of a restaurant in Turnham Green, Chiswick at about 1.30am on 31 August.

The restaurant’s CCTV recorded Peffers going into the restaurant’s basement before heading upstairs where he loaded carrier bags with 28 wine bottles, but left the most expensive one behind, as reported by Get West London.

He was then seen leaving the premises with the stolen goods.

Once Hounslow Police received reports of the burglary, they attended the scene and quickly identified Peffers as the suspect.

He was arrested at 4.25pm the same day and charged with non-residential burglary.

Darren Young from Hounslow’s serious acquisitive crime team said: “With the help of restaurant staff and fast time intelligence, we quickly identified, charged and sentenced a burglar within 24 hour period.”

“This sentence handed sends a strong message to those who intend on committing opportunist crimes of this nature that their actions can lead to time behind bars.”

He was sentenced at Uxbridge Magistrates Court to 10 weeks in prison.