Shoplifter blames benefits cut for having to resort to stealing from Inverness supermarket
Published: 15:30, 20 September 2020
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A man walked out of an Inverness supermarket with £300 worth of food in his trolley.
But, not having paid for it, 54-year-old father-of-four John McCallum, formerly of Mackay Road, Inverness, but now of Sauchie, near Alloa, was stopped before getting away with his haul from Tesco in Dores Road.
He admitted committing theft by shoplifting on July 7, 2019.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that, after being detained, he told officers: “I have no money to feed my kids due to benefit cuts.”
Defence solicitor Rory Gowans conceded it was “a brazen theft” but his comment to police explained the circumstances.
McCallum, who admitted previous convictions, was fined £400.
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