Boy who went on £100,000 shoplifting spree banned from entering Holland and Barrett and Boots
A teenage boy who went on a theft spree of more than £100,000 has been told to “seize this opportunity” to turn his life around while freeing himself from prison, a magistrate has heard.
The boy was also banned from entering Holland, Barrett and Boots stores, court officials said.
Judges at Highbury Corner Youth Court previously heard the 17-year-old stole cosmetics from shelves in dozens of raids on London branches of high street giants Boots and Holland and Barrett over the past two years.
The teenager, who cannot be named due to his age, had previously pleaded guilty to 15 counts of theft; 11 of these were thefts, in which he took goods worth £59,280.07 from Boots.
The court was previously told he had been accused of stealing from Boots 56 times and those offenses needed to be taken into account.
The value of goods stolen in all the thefts from Boots between April 2024 and December 2025 was more than £100,000, the court was told, while items from Holland and Barrett were worth more than £2,415.
He targeted Boots stores in various boroughs including Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and shoplifted from Holland and Barrett stores in Hammersmith, Fulham and Camden.
His guilty pleas included theft of highest value, where he stole goods worth £9,316.05 from a Boots in Kensington and Chelsea on October 2, 2024.
The young man was caught after he was detected stealing items in the company of another young man on security cameras.
The court previously heard the defendant was “shocked” by his grandfather’s warning that he could go to prison if he did not turn his life around.
When asked by judges the reasons behind this extreme offending, the boy said in March: “Sometimes I get distracted and manipulated by other people and things like that.
“I don’t want to be like this anymore. I just want to be with my grandfather.”
At the same court on Thursday, Holland, Barrett and Boots were sentenced to a 12-month criminal behavior order banning him from entering stores, court officials said.
The teenager was also ordered to pay compensation of £400 to Boots, £100 to Holland and Barrett, and was made the subject of a 12-month referral order, during which a youth offenders panel will decide the terms of the young offenders’ rehabilitation.
After sentencing the teenager, who turns 18 this year, Judge Alexia Fetherstonhaugh warned: “Things change dramatically when you go to adult court.
“Take this opportunity (for rehabilitation).
“This is your chance to do it.”
