A teenage boy who went on a more than £100,000 shoplifting spree across London has been spared jail by magistrates, who urged him to 'seize this opportunity' to turn his life around.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named due to his age, targeted branches of Boots and Holland and Barrett in dozens of raids over two years. He pleaded guilty to 15 counts of theft at Highbury Corner Youth Court, including 11 counts where he stole goods valued at £59,280.07 from Boots.
The court heard that the total value of goods stolen from Boots between April 2024 and December 2025 exceeded £100,000, along with items worth more than £2,415 from Holland and Barrett. The teenager targeted Boots stores in Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Holland and Barrett stores in Hammersmith, Fulham, and Camden.
His highest-value theft occurred on October 2, 2024, when he stole £9,316.05 worth of goods from a Boots in Kensington and Chelsea. He was identified after being caught on CCTV stealing with another youth.
The court previously heard that the defendant was 'shocked' by his grandfather's warning that he could end up in prison if he did not change his ways. When asked about his offending, the boy said in March: 'Sometimes I just get distracted and led by other people, and stuff like that. I do not want to be like that anymore. I just want to be with my granddad.'
On Thursday, he was sentenced to a 12-month criminal behaviour order banning him from entering Boots and Holland and Barrett stores. He was also ordered to pay £400 in compensation to Boots and £100 to Holland and Barrett, and made subject to a 12-month referral order, where a youth offender panel will decide the terms of his rehabilitation.
Magistrate Alexia Fetherstonhaugh warned him: 'Things shift dramatically when you go to adult court. Seize this opportunity (for rehabilitation). This is your chance to do that.'
