A “sticky-fingered” thief has been banned from every Greggs in England and Wales after being tackled by undercover officers.
Patrick Verry, 33, of no fixed address, was found guilty of snatching items from the popular Greggs store in Wood Green, north London, no less than six times.
In bodycam footage released by the Metropolitan Police, Verry loads a plastic bag with soft drinks directly from the fridge.
He turns to leave the store but is challenged by an officer lying in wait on a stakeout.
Verry tries to shrug off the officer, saying “whatever mate”, until he is grabbed by the shoulder and tackled to the ground on the busy high street on 18 May.
Bottles of Dr Pepper spill out onto the street as the officer reads his rights and places him in handcuffs.
From the ground, Verry claims he is “not resisting” before saying: “I apologise bruv, I'm sorry.”
Metropolitan Police say Verry had been seen stealing from the same Greggs on the shop’s CCTV six times previously.
He pleaded guilty to six counts of theft from the shop at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on 16 May and was banned from all Greggs throughout England and Wales.
The Metropolitan Police released the bodycam footage on Facebook, adding: “Banned from the bakery.
“This sticky-fingered thief had the half-baked idea to steal from Greggs… until plain clothes officers arrested him - he's now been banned from every Greggs in England and Wales.
“Ending his sausage roll era...”
The same Wood Green branch went viral on TikTok after 10 people were filmed stealing hot food, especially the chicken goujons, in just one hour.
The ban came as the bakery chain, which has more than 2,600 shops across the UK, has launched a new trial to deter thieves.
The new policy will mean customers will now be unable to pick up refrigerated sandwiches and drinks themselves and will instead need to ask a shop assistant to hand over items from behind the counter.
It is understood that this small trial is only being introduced in stores that are exposed to higher levels of shoplifting, and there are currently no plans to introduce this new format to all stores across the country.
A spokesperson for Greggs said: “This is one of a number of initiatives we are trialling across a handful of shops which are exposed to higher levels of anti-social behaviour.
“Customers can expect to see our full range of great value and tasty Greggs favourites available from behind the counter.
“The safety of our colleagues and customers remains our number one priority.”
