She arrived looking like any other customer, hair neatly tied back with a large bow, dressed smartly, browsing the shelves with practiced calm. But Leanne Crawley was not shopping. She was stealing, and she had done it many times before.
Crawley, 46, from Orpington, south London, has now been convicted of five counts of theft after a months-long spree that saw her target gift shops and supermarkets across Surrey and Kent, making off with thousands of pounds worth of Jellycat plush toys, champagne, chocolates, toothbrushes, and razors.
The total value of goods stolen across her offences runs to well over £4,000. Her first recorded offences in this case took place on April 22, 2024, when she and a male accomplice stole £2,528 worth of Jellycat toys from a garden centre in Buckland, Surrey. Later that same day, the pair moved on to the Lemon Tree gift shop in Dorking, taking a further £76 worth of the plushies.
They rounded off the afternoon at an M&S in Ashtead, where they walked out with £590 worth of champagne. The duo struck again on September 25, helping themselves to £800 worth of Jellycats from another Lemon Tree branch in Banstead before stopping at a Morrisons in Caterham to steal toothbrushes and razors, according to The Daily Mail.
CCTV footage from the Banstead raid shows Crawley feigning interest in the shelves, glancing around to check she is not being watched, then sweeping toys onto the floor behind a card rack before stuffing them into her handbag.
“The defendant and male went to the rear of the store and removed Jellycats to the total of £800,” prosecutor Tharshani Siba told the court. “Both then left without making any attempt to pay.” Crawley also stole Santa-shaped chocolates worth £123 from a BP petrol station in Tonbridge on December 17 then returned the following day to steal two more, valued at £150.
Jellycat toys have become increasingly attractive to thieves in recent years. The company periodically retires popular designs, creating a lucrative secondhand market where individual plushies have sold for close to £1,000 on sites like Vinted and eBay.
Ivor Rao, who owns the Lemon Tree chain, said the impact on his staff has been profound. “It’s the effect on the staff that is the worst thing,” he said. “If we confront someone we don’t know what they are going to do and you feel vulnerable. We lock them away now and all the staff feel much more relaxed.”
Despite carrying 45 previous theft convictions, Crawley was spared jail at Bromley Magistrates’ Court on Friday. She received an 18-week suspended sentence and was ordered to pay £85 in costs and a £154 surcharge — but no compensation to the retailers, which the judge ruled would not be “proportionate.” Crawley told the bench: “Thank you for giving me this opportunity, I’m really grateful.”