Ellie Neves: I Did Not Steal A Widescreen TV From Tesco

Have you ever completed a shop, only to find your picture posted by the police  in the local news the following week under the heading ‘Wanted for Theft’?

That’s exactly what happened to Ellie Neves in May, this year.

Ellie explained;

“I was actually in the doctor’s surgery when I received the text from a friend, informing me in no other words than ‘Mate, you’re wanted in the paper for theft!’”

“Needless to say, I thought it was a joke, but then as soon as I got my hands on a copy of the paper for myself, I felt far from amused; it was definitely me and it definitely said ‘wanted for theft’.”

A CCTV image, showing Ellie leaving the Tesco store in Beverley, was released to the media by Humberside Police with statement that read:

Officers would like to speak to the woman in Image 1 in relation to a shop theft which occurred at Tesco’s, Morton Lane at 1653hrs on Thursday 28 April 2011.  £11.06 worth of goods was scanned through the self scan machine but no payment was made.

Ellie said;

“I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry; it was certainly a photo for the ‘funny memories’ album, but not until I found out how it had got there!”

The first thing Ellie did was to call Humberside Police to ask the necessary questions.

Ellie was concerned that not long after she told them she was ‘the girl from the paper’ they’d be round at her house with the handcuffs and pepper spray.

Her curiosity however remained the stronger force by far, and so as soon as they answered the phone, Ellie explained how she was wanted in the paper by the police.

Ellie said;

“An amused-sounding officer managed a ‘what?’, although I am quite sure she heard me the first time.”

“I am wanted in the paper for theft of a television and am not sure what this is about?”

Ellie was advised that the officer on the case was not on duty until the following Wednesday, and that he’d be in touch with her on his return.

Four days of suspense followed for the shocked student, who was unable to work as her employed feared she would be recognised and damage the reputation of his business. Instead Ellie knuckled down to revise for her 2nd Year University Exams.

Finally, Ellie got the phone call she had been waiting for.  She answered the call expecting to be told that she was going to be arrested for stealing a television.  However, it turned out Ellie had taken her card out too quickly from a self-service machine.

Ellie explained;

“I was profoundly surprised by this, and couldn’t help but wonder if this was a prank, although I wasn’t finding it very funny.”

The officer in charge of the case asked if she would be prepared to go in and pay Tesco the £11.06 outstanding balance. Confounded, she agreed and with that the police sent her off on her merry way to Tesco to pay them back their missing £11.06.

On arrival at the store, a duty manager accepted Ellie’s payment, issuing her a receipt and left the Morton Lane store a free woman.

You may wonder what the purpose of this little tale is.  Well, for Ellie Neves it is partly down to her motivation to clear her name;

Ellie explains;

“I feel the need to reassure people that I did not steal a widescreen television from Tesco, Morton Lane in Beverley.”

“I am, however, rather dippy, and will more careful if I use a computer generated cashier to take my card payment again.”

“This leads me to assert the main point of my story; to warn other loyal Tesco shoppers to check their payment has actually gone through when using the self-service machines.”

“So fellow Beverley shoppers, I urge that you to take this warning and be extra careful using the machines. I’d hate to let my experience go to waste and after all; every little helps!”

• CCTV Footage of Ellie that was released to the media