Thief wears stolen jacket to court

Published Jun 27 2011, 13:49 BST  |  By Ben Lee

A man has been found guilty of shoplifting after wearing the jacket he stole to court in Cumbria, England.

The designer waterproof jacket, worth £125 ($200), was taken from a Sports Direct store - a British sporting retailer - in the market town of Kendal.

Stephen Kirkbride, 46, was accused of committing the crime, but wore the same item of clothing in front of the judge. The jacket was then seized when Kendal's Sports Direct manager recognised it.

The Craghopper coat consisted of two parts - an inner fleece and the outer waterproof layer. Police had previously found the fleece at a former address of the defendant before they came across the outer part in court.

Kirkbride claimed that the jacket was purchased from a charity shop, saying: "It was damaged, but I thought it was a bargain."

His lawyer insisted that the defendant wouldn't have worn the jacket to court if it was stolen, but the prosecutor pointed out that the tears in the clothing most likely came from removing the security tags.

The judge subsequently found Kirkbride guilty, describing his story as "completely implausible".

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