Brazen Sunderland thief stole nurse’s car snared after trying to use victim’s bank card

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A brazen thief who stole a nurse’s car was snared after trying to treat himself to a new widescreen TV – using the victim’s bank card.

Anthony Parkin is now behind bars after taking the stolen white Nissan Qashqai on a joy ride before heading to a Sainsbury’s store in Sunderland for a spending spree.

But Parkin’s greed came back to bite him after an alert shop-worker working at the supermarket’s Argos kiosk spotted that the bank card which he tried to use was registered to a woman.

Unconvinced by Parkin’s claim that it belonged to his girlfriend, the employee denied the sale and vowed to keep hold of the card until the registered owner came to retrieve it with appropriate identification.

CCTV cameras then followed Parkin, 35, as he sheepishly scurried out of the Riverside North store and drove off in the stolen car.

Parkin, of Ernwill Avenue, Sunderland, admitted a string of offences including theft of a motor vehicle and fraud by false representation when he appeared at Newcastle Crown Court last week.

He was subsequently sentenced to 14 months in jail.

Detective Sergeant Chris Raper-Smith, of Northumbria Police, said: “Anthony Parkin is somebody who is well-known to police and has consistently shown a total disregard for the law.

“In the end, his greed got the better of him on this occasion – and after stealing a victim’s car in the dead of night, he also found her bank card and decided to reward himself for his criminal exploits.

“Unfortunately for him, the shop worker at Argos spotted the name on the card and suspected he was up to no good. I’d like to thank the employee for trusting her instincts and doing the right thing.

“Her intervention, along with some excellent work by the detectives who worked on the case, has ensured that Parkin must now serve a custodial sentence and face the consequences of his selfish actions.

“We will never tire of putting burglars and thieves before the courts, and will continue to do all we can to ensure those who bring misery to others are taken off our streets.”

In a statement prepared for court, the nurse whose car and bank card that Parkin stole admitted she was left feeling “sick” by what happened.

Parkin admitted theft of a motor vehicle, fraud by false representation, theft, having no insurance and driving otherwise in accordance with a licence when he appeared at Newcastle Crown Court last Thursday (March 4), but was acquitted of burglary.

He also pleaded guilty to separate charges of fraud by false representation, theft from a motor vehicle and four further counts of theft.

Content courtesy of Northumbria Police.

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