Thief who stole thousands from London gym users' lockers jailed for two years

 
Jailed: John Fletcher
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A thief who stole tens of thousands of pounds worth of valuables from gym users across London and the UK was behind bars today.

John Fletcher, 41, was jailed for two years for 27 counts of theft after he stole from customers at gyms in London and the surrounding counties.

Armed only with a screwdriver he broke into lockers to steal high value watches, cash and jewellery after setting up memberships at gyms including Virgin, Nuffield Health and the David Lloyd centres.

He is supected of carrying out more than 500 thefts at gyms across the UK.

Fletcher, described as a career criminal, was finally arrested by City of London police after staff at the Grange City Hotel in the Square Mile recognised him from previous appeals.

He admitted 27 theft offences and was sentenced at the Old Bailey.

Det Sgt James Curtis said : “Fletcher targeted upmarket gyms to steal expensive watches and jewellery to fuel his lifestyle

“The nationwide manhunt, including a crimewatch appeal, began in 2013 and he is thought to have stolen items worth tens of thousands of pounds before he was arrested.”

Fletcher was wanted by the City of London Police, Thames Valley, Sussex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent and Surrey.

His first known offence took place on the 12 July 2013 at David Lloyd gym in Sidcup. He continued to commit offences up until his eventual arrest.

Fletcher, of no fixed abode, was convicted of previous gym thefts - including stealing the wallet of TV star Robson Green - in 2011.

He admitted to a further five thefts from gyms in Surrey which were taken into consideration at court on Monday.

Despite efforts to recover the stolen items none have been recovered and officers believe he quickly sold them to fund his lifestyle.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in