A man has been fined after admitting to stealing luggage from a mother as she breastfed her daughter at Gatwick Airport.
John Brooks, 52, of Brighton Road, Crawley, pleaded guilty to taking a suitcase and a child’s backpack from the airport on 30 October 2025.
He also admitted causing £88.30 worth of criminal damage, having broken a security barrier with his head while making his escape with the stolen items.
On Tuesday, Brooks appeared at Crawley Magistrates Court wearing an orange coat under a black gilet and spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address.
After entering his pleas he heard about the impact on his victim, before being fined £388.30 by the magistrates bench.
The mother-of-two went to the baby care room in the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport to breastfeed her younger daughter.
“Due to the way the room is laid out she wasn’t able to bring her pram and luggage outside the room so left it just outside the door,” said Amy Fraser, prosecuting.
Brooks, who appeared drunk, then arrived and stood by her luggage trolley for a “short time” outside the toilets before taking it and moving off, the court heard.
Ms Fraser said: “He goes through the taxi area and then down to where the exit of the car park is… he ducks down to go under the barrier but it won’t move so he uses his head to move the barrier which then bends and breaks.”
The prosecution called it an “opportunistic crime” and said the luggage was later recovered and returned.
In a victim impact statement, the mother said she now feels “insecure” in public, and that her older daughter, eight, has become fearful.
“What happened has changed the way we feel in public spaces, the way we travel and the way my daughter sees the world around her,” she said.
Brooks has 37 previous convictions for 72 offences, 42 of which relate to theft.
He will pay £300 in compensation to the victim and £88.30 for the security barrier.
