Applegreen thief to be sentenced

A man who stole £4,500 from an Applegreen petrol station by ‘stuffing cash bags with ripped pieces of paper will now face sentencing at crown court.’

The Shropshire Star reported that Ben Jenkins who worked at Applegreen in Bromfield Road, Ludlow, was trusted to bank the cash for the site as part of his role as supervisor. Instead of filling the bags with bank notes, he filled them with ripped up paper. He then handed the worthless bags over to G4S security staff.

When the theft was discovered in October 2022, Applegreen’s regional manager gave Jenkins a chance to pay the money back before calling the police. however Jenkins had already spent the money on drugs. He was reported to police and arrested. The Shropshire Star said the money has not been recovered.

Ben Jenkins appeared at Telford Magistrates Court where he also faced charges of strangling his ex-partner and making a menacing phone call to her. He pleaded guilty to theft by employee, intentional strangulation and sending a menacing message.

Magistrates decided to commit the case to crown court as they felt their sentencing powers were insufficient.

Jenkins will be sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court at a later date.