Birmingham man jailed for using till trick to steal 80k from supermarket

08 December 2023 , 23:46

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Scott Winter used the money to pay his debts, bills, and a costly hard drug habit (Image: Warwickshire Police)

A Birmingham supermarket worker has been jailed after stealing around £80,000 from the till over a two-year period to pay for a costly drug habit.

Scott Winter, 49, who was employed at the Coleshill branch of Morrisons on Park Road, raised eyebrows when he kept hitting the voucher button on the till too many times. The store's Loss Prevention Manager caught wind of the dodgy transactions and decided to keep an eye on Winter through the shop's CCTV. Winter, from Revesby Walk in Birmingham, was then spotted pocketing cash from the tills and heading to the loo.

Warwickshire Police say they nabbed him as he was leaving the toilet and took him to a holding room. During a chat with store security, he admitted to taking money from the shop. The police said that Winter had been using a tender swap process to take the money out of the tills.

A man has been jailed after using a till trick to steal 'around £80,000' worth of cash from Morrisons supermarket where he worked in order to fund his drug habit (BPM Media)

A police spokesperson explained: "Winter would go to each till on the shopfloor before pressing the coupon button and entering the amount he wanted to take from the till, usually around £150. He would then put the money into his wallet while in the toilets and out of view."

"On the day he was caught, Winter had approximately £400 on him from this process. Previous CCTV footage confirmed that Winter had been carrying this process out on a regular basis."

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Winter stole the cash over a period that started from his employment in August 2021. The money was used to pay for his bills, debts, and a costly hard drug habit.

Winter, who admitted his guilt, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for theft by an employee at Warwick Crown Court on Wednesday, December 6. PC Stephen Taylor of North Warwickshire SNT said that Winter knew he was doing wrong but didn't stop until he was caught.

"But that didn't stop him from pocketing tens of thousands of pounds before getting caught," he continued. "If it hadn't been for robust processes and vigilant shop staff at the supermarket, he might never have been caught at all."

"The steel grip of illicit drugs like crack cocaine on people's lives, pushing them towards criminality, is more than visible here. Winter has received 14 months to consider what route he wants to take for his life in future, and we hope that he finds the help he needs to get clean and be better."

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Ryan Fahey