A SHOPLIFTER who took �262 worth of clothing from a store in St Albans has pleaded guilty and been given a 12-month conditional discharge.

Elvis Kwiatkowski, of the Ver Meadows traveller’s site in Redbourn, took the clothing from Matalan on Thursday, November 11, although admitted he had been drinking heavily and had no recollection of how he came to be in the store.

Kwiatkowski, who was accompanied by a woman, only remembers hearing someone tell him to take the clothes that were in the trolley and leave the store. The woman, who had left the store earlier, was waiting in a car once Kwiatkowski left the store and they drove off.

The car’s registration plate meant the vehicle was traced and quickly stopped by police.

Kwiatkowski, who has no previous convictions and is being treated for severe alcoholism and on anti-psychotic medication, said he had been working hard to address the issues that had led to the theft, namely his alcoholism, and that he was keen not to make a repeat appearance at the magistrates’ court.