Man who stole pensioner's life savings sweet tin jailed

A man who stole a pensioner's life savings after finding the cash in a Quality Street tin on the floor of an amusement arcade has been jailed for four months.

The 75-year-old victim had put £26,000 in cash in the sweet tin and taken it with him to Blackpool in the hope of achieving his dream of buying a holiday home in the resort.

But after he had gone into the town's Coral Island amusement arcade he placed the tin on the floor and then became distracted.

A member of the public saw two people pick the tin up and walk off - although police were not called until the following day.

Liam Davis, 22, of Chapel Street, Blackpool, and a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons appeared at Preston Crown Court last month where they pleaded guilty to the theft in April last year.

Today, Davies was jailed for four months for the offence when he appeared at Lancaster Crown Court, Lancashire Police said.

The two thieves later dropped the tin on the promenade, causing some of the money to blow onto the street.

The pair scooped most of the money up and then made off, but some of the notes were blown away down the street.

Members of the public helped to pick the cash up, under the guidance of an off-duty police officer, and this was later returned to the victim.

A further amount of money was later recovered from one of the offender's home address.

Detective Sergeant Jane Atkinson, of Lancashire Police, said: "The pair did not initially know that the tin contained money when they stole it, but once they realised how much cash they had they did not make any effort to return it.

"We believe that some of the missing money was spent by the offenders on beer, taxis and other frivolous things.

"Fortunately the vast majority of the cash - including that which was blown onto the prom - was given back to the victim.

"However, the incident has been a significant setback for him and he has not yet realised his dream of buying a caravan."

PA