"Millionaire shoplifter" jailed

A Briton dubbed the "millionaire shoplifter" who enjoyed the high life on the back of his crimes, was jailed on Monday for a string of offences across the country.

Kevin Castle, 43, made his cash by gaining refunds from large DIY stores such as Homebase and B&Q using fraudulent receipts from shoplifted goods.

He and his partner Elaine Rodgers, 47, spent lavishly, living in a luxury apartment, driving top of the range cars, and eating in some of the London's top restaurants, police said.

"Castle and Rodgers have lived the high life for many years, living off the proceeds of crime," said Detective Constable Dot Walker from Lancashire Police.

Walker said Castle had rented an apartment in London's upmarket Knightsbridge district costing 1,000 pounds a week, dressed in designer Versace, Armani and Luis Vuitton suits, and ate out at restaurants popular with celebrities such as Le Caprice and The Ivy.

Detectives said it was estimated he had spent more than 40,000 pounds on car hire alone in three years.

Lancashire police said they first came across Castle in 2004 when he tried to use a fraudulent receipt at a B&Q in Preston.

He used a number of guises and identities, pretending to be an electrical engineer, an alarm fitter and a company director.

He was arrested in 2006 in Greater Manchester but went on the run after failing to answer bail. However he was caught in February this year getting out of a BMW X5 in a village near Nottingham.

"This has been a complex and protracted inquiry which has been exacerbated by the fact that the crimes have been committed all over the UK," Walker said.

"What appeared at the outset to be an investigation into shoplifting culminated in much more serious charges being brought."

Castle, from Nottingham, who pleaded guilty to money laundering at a hearing in June, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison at Preston Crown Court.

Rodgers had already received a suspended jail term after admitting the same charge in January. She has been ordered to declare her assets and is set to face a confiscation hearing next month.

Police said she had thousands of pounds going in and out of her bank accounts even though she was on a very low income and was claiming benefits.

"She was spending on a massive scale at places such as Harrods and Claridges in London," Walker said.