DIYWEEK.net

A court has ordered a shoplifter to pay out over £1,000 after he went to the police complaining about his treatment by the hardware shop he targeted.
In February this year 23-year-old Nicholas Allegretto was caught on CCTV in Mackays of Cambridge stealing a pricey industrial magnet. Staff tried to stop him but he ran away. Owner Neil Mackay subsequently created posters from the CCTV images and displayed them in the store, but with Allegretto's face blocked out.

The image of the thief, dubbed 'Mr Magnet Man' by Mackays, was also posted on Facebook and appeared in the local newspaper.

Then, as Mr Mackay told diyweek.net at the time: "I got a phone call from the police saying Mr Magnet Man had pitched up at Cambridge police station to complain [about the posters], saying that his children had been victimised at school and he'd been sacked from his job, but he denied that he was taking the magnet. The police came to us and got all the CCTV images. They said, 'do you want to prosecute', and I said, 'yes I do'."

Allegretto had apparently told the police that his family had seen the image and that he had been fired from his job with a roofing company because of the rumours.

However, at Cambridge Magistrates' Court last week chairman of the bench Phil King said the evidence against Allegretto was "clear, compelling and credible", and he was found guilty of theft in his absence.

He was fined £400 and ordered to pay £620 in costs. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Mr Mackay told The Telegraph: "I suppose you could say he wasn't the sharpest tool in the box."