A bungling burglar’s daring raid on a Nottingham opticians ended abruptly when police found him hiding inside a rubbish bin.
Ashley Lawrence, 37, unleashed chaos at Gray & Bull Opticians in the city centre around 5am on Wednesday, November 5. CCTV footage captured him smashing through a glass door using his body weight and fleeing with approximately 50 pairs of high-value sunglasses and spectacle frames worth about £8,000.
Three days later, a staff member recognized Lawrence loitering near the shop on Pelham Street and promptly alerted the police. When officers arrived, he made a desperate escape by jumping into a large commercial bin beside a nearby church.
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Body-cam footage recorded the moment police lifted the bin lid to reveal Lawrence crouched inside among the rubbish. An officer handcuffed him in the bin, informing him, “You’re under arrest on suspicion of burglary.”
Nottinghamshire Police credited members of the public for assisting in locating Lawrence, who has no fixed address and was wanted on a recall to prison. He was charged with burglary and subsequently sentenced to 12 months in prison after pleading guilty at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on Monday, November 11.
PC Ben King from the city centre neighbourhood policing team condemned the crime and praised the cooperation of the staff and public. “Lawrence is a persistent offender, repeatedly failing to comply with court orders since 2022. He has numerous convictions for theft, including multiple shoplifting offences in 2023 and 2024, many resulting in custodial sentences,” the officer said.
“We are pleased to have him back behind bars and confident that local businesses will share this relief. This conviction reaffirms our commitment to tackling retail crime and ensuring offenders face justice.”