Two men charged over charity shop burglary

Simon Brand, 23, of Millfield, Sompting, and Alec Lappin, 21, of Butts Road, Southwick will appear at Worthing Magistrates’ Court next Monday (May 24) charged with two burglaries in January.

A large quantity of clothing was stolen was the Oxfam charity shop, in Boundary Road, Hove, and power tools were taken from a garage in Shoreham.

Brand and Lappin were arrested after police saw a white Mercedes, at Hill Barn traffic lights, Sompting, at about 9pm on January 6, shortly before the car was found abandoned, and a member of the public reported seeing three men run from it.

The clothing and tools were found inside.

DC Lindsey Van Buiten, officer in the case, said: “The clothing was returned to Oxfam, however at least half of it had to be disposed of due to it being soaking wet, at a cost to Oxfam of around £300.

“The owner of the power tools was happy to have them returned to him by police, which he never thought he would see again.

“I would advise anyone with these type of tools to mark them with their postcode and house number so that if they are ever found by police after a theft, the correct owner can be located.”