A prolific chocolate thief has been banned from Hotel Chocolat after shoplifting £850 worth of luxury chocolate.
Charlotte Jones shoplifted expensive chocolates seven times from the same Hotel Chocolat store in Nottingham city centre.
The 35-year-old from Cheltenham Street in Old Basford, Nottingham, ‘harmed city centre businesses due to her disregard for the law’, police said.
She pleaded guilty after being caught and was handed a suspended 12-week jail sentence over 12 months at Nottingham Magistrates Court on January 3.
She was also banned from Hotel Chocolat for two years.
The thefts began in December 2024. Jones redoubled her efforts in the lead-up to last Christmas with a number of shoplifting episodes.
She stole £90 worth of chocolate from the Albert Street shop on December 8 last year.
She then struck again, stealing a further £62 of sweet treats a couple of weeks later, on December 23.
Finally, the sweet-toothed thief targeted the shop once more, stealing £60 of confectionery on January 2 this year, making no attempt to pay.
In total, Jones had stolen £851 worth of chocolate in the seven separate thefts. They were all at the same Albert Street shop between December 2024 and January 2026.
Sergeant Dan Butler, of Nottinghamshire Police’s city centre neighbourhood team, said: ‘Jones is a persistent shoplifter, and we know her behaviour has harmed city centre businesses due to her disregard for the law.
‘We are continuing to clamp down on prolific offenders with restrictive court orders banning them from certain shops or the city centre altogether.
‘If their behaviour continues, we can more easily add further restrictions to the order, which makes it an arrestable offence to be in a particular area before products are stolen.
‘Support is available to vulnerable people who choose to engage with us; however, we also have a duty to protect businesses and the public from harm.
‘These orders are effective, and for as long as prolific shoplifters keep committing offences, we will continue to put them before the courts.’
Now Jones has been banned from the Albert Street store after magistrates granted Nottinghamshire Police a criminal behaviour order to bar her from the shop.
She was also ordered to complete 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay £152 in compensation.
The ban last two years and was granted on January 17. The force said it made sure the ban was in place ‘to protect businesses and the public from Jones after she was identified as a prolific offender.’
Breaching the order is a criminal offence and would likely result in her being jailed due to her suspended sentence.
