South Yorkshire business boss's champagne lifestyle turned sour

A former South Yorkshire businessman stole champagne from Tesco after gambling away his fortune.
Court caseCourt case
Court case

Wayne Singleton ran to a parked car and drove off after he was challenged by staff at the store but his licence number was traced.

The 48-year-old of Redgrave Place, Flanderwell, Rotherham, admitted stealing £59 of shopping when he appeared before Mansfield magistrates.

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He and a female companion were on October 13 spotted on CCTV before staff followed them outside the Ollerton store, said prosecutor Robert Carr.

He fled after telling staff he had no time to get a receipt. When questioned last month, Singleton told police he “panicked”.

Zahra Hussain, mitigating, said the offence was “completely out of character".

Singleton was a successful businessman who owned properties, including a snooker club, but lost everything due to a gambling addiction.

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He subsequently worked at DFS for four years but “struggled with the change in lifestyle” and fell into depression.

“He says this was a wake-up call for him,” said Ms Hussain, adding Singleton, who was on ESA, is due to start another new job.

Singleton, who had a previous unrelated conviction from 2010, was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 costs and £30 victim surcharge.