'UK’s poshest thief' who pinched Le Creuset cookware dodges jail after premium 'shoplifting spree'
31 May 2025, 14:55
The “UK’s poshest thief” who went on a "shoplifting spree" has been fined £2,500 alongside her husband after pilfering goods including high-end Le Creuset cookware.
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The former criminology lecturer and senior lecturer at Bath Spa University stole more than £1,000’s worth of the cookware, premium steaks, wine and fancy gin.
Pauline Al Said, 35, has avoided jail time for her exploits, and was instead fined £1,500 for stealing from a garden center and M&S branch.
Her husband, Mark Wheatcroft, 56, was fined £1,000 for one theft and assaulting a shop worker.
The couple represented themselves in Portsmouth Crown Court, and argued that their actions were on the “lower end”, as reported in the Guardian.
A jury heard that the first incident saw the couple at Old Barn garden center in Horsham, East Sussex.
Al Said was reportedly stopped on her way out of the garden centre, carrying two bags without paying.
Judge Keith Cutler commented that shoplifters walking out of supermarkets with “full trolley loads” was becoming more common, and the public were calling for “appropriate sentences”.
The Judge issued a fine in the belief that Al Said would not comply with a community service order.
One of the bags reportedly contained bottles of gin and spiced rum. The other contained more alcohol, as well as Le Creuset cookware and a Le Creuset condiment set.
It was also reported Al Said had used a security tag remover to snip off tags around the store.
After being asked to come back into the store, Wheatcroft then reportedly threatened to punch a security guard, then “making contact” with his back.
The second incident was at a Marks & Spencer in Winchester, where Al Said was spotted filling a trolley with more than 30 steaks and bottles of wine.
Al Said denied two charges of theft, while Wheatcroft faced one count of theft and one count of assault, as reported in MailOnline.
