A brazen thief who waved at a security camera while holding a stolen credit card has been jailed
John Fletcher, 50, was caught when detectives spotted him on supermarket CCTV following reports of thefts from a number of gyms in Ashford and Eastbourne in January and February this year.
Fletcher had raided gym locker rooms, stealing £1,000 in cash and spending a further £2,000 on stolen cards.
Kent police studied CCTV footage and found him slipping through the turnstiles to gain access to the locker room area.
An accomplice, Laura McGannan, 35, would sometimes distract staff whilst he got in.
Further CCTV work showed Fletcher in shops when the cards were used.
A car which officers linked to the attacks was stopped near Tunbridge Wells on 24 February and both Fletcher and McGannan were arrested.
Fletcher, of Bexhill-on-Sea, was charged with six counts of burglary and 10 counts of fraud.
He was admitted to all 16 counts and was jailed for two and a half years at Canterbury Crown Court.
McGannan, of Winchelsea, was given a six-month suspended sentence after admitting five counts of burglary, following her role in assisting Fletcher.
PC Michael Eeles, of the Kent Crime Squad, said: “CCTV showed Fletcher waving at a camera while he spent other people’s money at a supermarket.
“I am pleased the quick work of detectives led to him being arrested a few days later and he is now in prison, unable to further trouble the public.”