Video: Moment brazen thieves steal £300 of Lego as four prolific shoplifters jailed

Emma Fraser, Shakita Maximilian, Yasmin Leech and Shaun Fitzgerald have been put behind bars for a combined total of 50 weeks after stealing over £1,400 worth of products from shops across the city.

The four have all been identified as prolific and well-known shoplifters in Doncaster, with Leech and Maximilian's crimes caught on a CCTV camera.

Leech, aged 34, of Springwell Lane, Balby, and Maximilian, aged 25, of Chesterfield Road, Sheffield, were jailed for 10 weeks and 16 weeks, respectively, after plundering around £300 worth of Lego from an Asda store.

They were caught on CCTV entering the store, heading straight to the toy section and grabbing several boxes of Lego.

They then walked to the self-service tills, shovelled all the Lego boxes into carrier bags and walked out past a security guard without paying for any of the items.

Leech was convicted of one theft and sentenced on 16 November, while Maximilian was convicted of four thefts in total after also plundering £60 worth of boxsets from HMV, £151 worth of chocolate and chilled goods from One Stop and two t-shirts from JD Sports.

Fraser, aged 32, of Goodison Boulevard, Cantley, was convicted of 12 thefts after stealing over £500 worth of items from Co-Op, One Stop and a pharmacy. She was jailed for 16 weeks on 16 November.

Fitzgerald was identified as a prolific offender after he stole £70 worth of meat and chocolate from a Tesco store by hiding the items under his coat.

The 55-year-old, of Broom Hill Drive, Doncaster, appeared before Doncaster Magistrates' Court last Saturday (18 November) and was jailed for eight weeks.

Sergeant Steve Roberts, from Doncaster Central Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "We will not tolerate thieves stealing from stores in Doncaster and I'm pleased to see that these four prolific offenders have been given custodial sentences.

"We want Doncaster to be a safe and welcoming place for people to live, work, shop and visit, and we are determined to tackle retail crime to make sure that happens.

"Shop workers and managers should not have to apprehend thieves at work and we want shoplifters to know that we are building intelligence on them and we know how they operate.

"We are watching you, and if you are caught, there is a very real prospect of you being sent to prison."