A MAN spent nearly 100,000 Nectar points after stealing a wallet and using the card in Sainsbury's supermarket.

David Samuel Arthur Osbourne, 34, was sentenced to a 12-month community order at York Crown Court yesterday (June 29) after admitting stealing a wallet and using the loyalty card.

On April 14 this year, a man had lost his wallet while shopping in Scarborough and reported the loss to the police.

Later the same day a Nectar card from the wallet was used in Sainsbury’s on Falsgrave Road in two separate transactions, to purchase items worth a total of £482 – using up 96,500 points.

Receipts showed the points were used to buy items including three mobile phones, steak, pet food and chocolates – and the card was left with a balance of less than £20 (3,622 points). The store is covered by CCTV, and a suspect using the card was captured on camera.

Osbourne, from Victoria Road, Scarborough, was subsequently recognised by officers. He was arrested on May 26, and subsequently charged with theft of the wallet and two counts of fraud by false representation for using a Nectar card in the name of someone else.

PC Liam Cromack, of Scarborough Police, who led the investigation, said: “The victim and his family had saved up the Nectar points for more than ten years to buy themselves something special, so when Osbourne used them they were understandably very upset. In interview, Osbourne showed no remorse for the offences, saying when he found the card with all the points on he thought it was his lucky day and took advantage of it.”

Osbourne pleaded guilty at Scarborough Magistrates Court on June 8, and on June 29 at York Crown Court he was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a rehabilitation activity requirement, and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £85.