A thief who stole a nurse's car and used her bank card to try and treat himself to a widescreen TV has been jailed.
Anthony Parkin, of Ernwill Avenue, Sunderland, stole a white Nissan Qashqai before heading to a Sainsbury’s store in Sunderland with the victim's bank card for a spending spree.
While attempting to buy a widescreen TV, the shop assistant working at the supermarket’s Argos kiosk spotted that the bank card which he tried to use was registered to a woman.
The 35-year-old claimed the card belonged to his girlfriend, however the employee was not convinced by Parkin's claim.
The employee denied the sale and said they would keep hold of the card until the registered owner came to retrieve it with the appropriate identification.
CCTV cameras found Parkin leaving the Riverside North store driving off in the stolen car.
Anthony Parkin admitted a string of offences including theft of a motor vehicle and fraud by false representation when he appeared at Newcastle Crown Court last Thursday, March 4.
He was subsequently sentenced to 14 months in jail.
In a statement prepared for court, the nurse whose car and bank card that Parkin stole admitted she was left feeling “sick” by what happened.
Detective Sergeant Chris Raper-Smith, of Northumbria Police, said: “Anthony Parkin is somebody who is well-known to police and has consistently shown a total disregard for the law.
“In the end, his greed got the better of him on this occasion – and after stealing a victim’s car in the dead of night, he also found her bank card and decided to reward himself for his criminal exploits.
“Unfortunately for him, the shop worker at Argos spotted the name on the card and suspected he was up to no good. I’d like to thank the employee for trusting her instincts and doing the right thing.
“Her intervention, along with some excellent work by the detectives who worked on the case, has ensured that Parkin must now serve a custodial sentence and face the consequences of his selfish actions.
“We will never tire of putting burglars and thieves before the courts, and will continue to do all we can to ensure those who bring misery to others are taken off our streets.”
