A prolific Greggs thief nicknamed the ‘Hamster’ by staff has been spared jail after stealing close to £2,000 worth of items from the bakery.
Adam Gosling, 39, targeted a store in Greenford, west London, 38 times over a six-week period between December 30, 2025, and February 10.
The value of the thefts ranged from £12.30 to £100 per visit and, on some days, the homeless man would target the Greggs multiple times.
Prosecutors told Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday that Gosling’s theft spree amounted to £1,817.50.
Footage released by the store shows the hooded man ransacking Lucozades from their fridge into a bag.
In a another clip, he returns with a mask on and proceeds to shamelessly stash multiple orange juice bottles into a Co-op bag in front of onlooking employees.
The thief is later spotted by a staff member who appears to walk over to him with a tablet – but Gosling simply walks past and exits the shop, leaving the fridge door open.
He was eventually arrested on February 10 year after the CCTV footage was shown to police.
CCTV footage shows Adam Gosling, 39, stealing drinks from a Greggs store in Greenford, west London
The homeless man targeted the store 38 times over a six-week period at the beginning of last year (He is seen here dressed in black stashing orange juice bottles into a bag)
So prolific was Gosling’s thievery that Greggs staff dubbed him the ‘Hamster’. He was spared jail this week after pleading guilty to 38 counts of theft
Scotland Yard’s Greenford Broadway safer neighbourhood team said on its Met Engage platform that staff saw a high number of thefts of food and drink at the branch and began to log each one.
Police community support officer James Tupman said Gosling became the ‘most prolific’ thief.
He pleaded guilty to 38 counts of theft from a shop and was sentenced to four months in jail, suspended for one year, by chairman of the magistrates’ bench Judy Gregg.
Superintendent Sean Lynch, who leads neighbourhood policing in Ealing, said: ‘We are committed to tackling issues that have a real impact on businesses and communities – including shoplifting.
‘In the last year, theft offences have fallen by 8.3% in Ealing and 9.5% across the Met as a whole.
‘While we recognise there is more to do to continue to drive down crime, our officers will continue to work with their communities and businesses to tackle repeat offenders and bring them to justice.’
The 39-year-old was arrested after staff shared the CCTV footage with Metropolitan Police (He is pictured here in the back of a police car)
Mr Tupman wrote after he was charged: ‘This result is the direct outcome of strong partnership work with Greggs staff, who have been exceptionally proactive in recording offences and supporting our investigation.
‘The volume of thefts had a significant impact on the business and our officers worked tirelessly to gather evidence, identify the offender and put long-term measures in place to prevent reoffending.’
