A man stole two power tools from a Worcester DIY store due to long queue

What an excuse! Amazing and true! The man could not be bothered to queue up and pay, a court was told. Stephen Kearney, of Warndon, Worcester, went into Homebase at Elgar Retail Park on Sunday, December 20, with two large hessian carrier bags.

Lisa Mayne, prosecuting at Worcester Magistrates Court, said a sales manager noticed Kearney heading towards the till area with the two bags which looked full. The 31-year-old then bypassed the tills and went out through the exit.

Ms Mayne said: "The defendant was asked to stop but he just kept walking away. He then turned around and said, ‘Do you know who you are talking to?’"

Unfortunately the reply was not reported but was probably something like "Yes. A shoplifter".

Kearney eloquently swore at the store worker, "%@*(&%@$!!!!", before getting into a car and driving off. The police were called and CCTV footage was checked which showed the two power tools being taken off the shelf and put into the bags.

Kearney was arrested and interviewed at Worcester police station on Wednesday, December 30.
He told officers he had gone into the store to buy Christmas decorations and said he had £500 cash on him to pay for them.

Ms Mayne said: "He saw the tools then concealed them in the two bags. He said there was a large queue and couldn’t be bothered to wait and pay for the items."

The court was told how Kearney was given a two-year conditional discharge in January last year for two similar shoplifting offences.

In October 2008 he stole perfume worth £32 from Debenhams in High Street, Worcester, and in November 2008 he stole two pints of milk and three legs of lamb worth £38 from Tesco in Warndon, both we assume with long queues too, but not reported.

He then pleaded guilty to the theft from Homebase and also admitted breaching his conditional discharge. He was sentenced to a six-month community order with six months of supervision.
Kearney was also given a four-month curfew order from 7am to 7pm and has to pay £79 compensation to Homebase and £85 in costs.

Chairman of the magistrates Elaine Bell said: "We really don’t want to see you back in court and I’m sure you don’t want to go to prison."

Apparently the access to the court was relativeley unfettered by long queues, so no one is holding their breath.

Worcester News was the only member of the media at this hearing and thanks to them for reporting on this gem!

Get yourselves some DIY tools and pay for them.

Sorry no queues!

Woman DIYers up in arms!

The electric multi-tester tool's instructions infuriated customers with a comment that read: "Even a woman or child could spot a good or bad bulb or fuse."

Customers who have bought the electric multi-tester tool have expressed their anger at the sexist remark.

Homebase said it "sincerely apologises for any offence caused by the genuine oversight in the wording on the instructions".

Homebase added: "Homebase stock in the region of 30,000 products in stores and we will be addressing this error with our supplier."

Homebase has opened an investigation into the sexist comments but has not revealed the specific product in question.

DIYsupermarket.com is pretty sure we don't have any sexist instructions, but if we find any, we'll be down on them like a ton of bricks!

Check out our Tools, Kit and Stuff

Homebase worker switches on the Christmas lights in Portishead

Rather than inviting Hollywood star or local homeowner Johnny Depp, Nigel Parker, 21, who works at Homebase in Portishead was chosen for the honour following a campaign on Facebook.

"I was amazed and delighted to be asked," said Mr Parker. "It's just a privilege and not something I'd ever thought about before."

He was also joined by three Bristol City players, the players, Liam Fontaine, Nicky Maynard and Cole Skuse, were watched by a large crowd who chanted "Nigel, Nigel" as Mr Parker turned on the lights.

"It's such a high accolade and to be compared with someone like Johnny Depp is amazing," said Mr Parker.

"I would like to thank everyone who voted for me and supported me," he added.

Nigel's name was put forward during a meeting of the town's Christmas lights committee.

"He's such a pleasant chap that people queue up to be served by him," said Barry Randall of the town's Christmas Lights Committee.

"It was suggested we should have a local personality as we like to honour local people who've made a mark in the community," said Mr Randall.

"He's always got a smile and a nice word for you."

Celebrities who have turned on Portishead's Christmas lights recently include Carol Vorderman in 2007 who has a house in the town and Chris Harris in 2008 who is well known locally for playing pantomime dames.

The electricity bill for Portishead's lights is about £2,000.