A man accused of helping himself to almost half of a baker’s stock from an honesty box stall without paying has failed to appear in court to face a theft charge.
Blake Young, from Sprignall, Peterborough, is alleged to have taken 25 baked items, valued at £80, from the Treat Street Bake Shed in Spalding, Lincolnshire, on May 9.
Young had been scheduled to attend Boston Magistrates’ Court on June 22, but did not appear in person.
Prosecutor Lottie Tyler told the court that Young’s absence was because “he didn’t have the funds to get to court”.
Officials then arranged for him to take part by video link. Although he was said to have waited in a call for much of the day, Young was not present when his case was eventually called at 4.45pm.
The hearing was adjourned until July 20, with the court warning that a warrant for his arrest will be issued if he fails to attend again.
Young was charged with theft after footage from a hidden camera inside the honesty box shed allegedly showed him removing a selection of baked goods without making payment.
He is accused of starting the alleged raid by opening the shed door while pulling his red T-shirt up over his chin, in what appeared to be an attempt to conceal his identity.
A pony-tailed bakery bandit failed to appear in court this week after he was charged with theft
Blake Young, 18, is charged with stealing baked goods from an honesty box in Spalding, Lincolnshire, on May 9
The bakery bandit’s case was adjourned on June 22 until next month in Boston Magistrate’s Court
Young then seemingly slowly filled a plastic carrier bag with a variety of goodies while licking his lips and even tried to open the cash box inside the stall before calmly walking away.
After seeing the pony-tailed thief taking her homemade cakes from just outside her front door, treat shed owner, Sabina Seidel, assumed that he was just another supportive customer.
The 39-year-old went outside and thanked the man, thinking he paid by cash, to which he replied ‘you’re welcome’ as he left.
But as she turned to take stock inside the cake shed, the penny dropped and Sabina realised she was the victim of the bakery bandit.
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‘I’d assumed he paid by cash and I checked the cash box and he hadn’t put money in there’, she previously told the Mail.
Sabina started the cake shed in March as a way of bringing her dream of owning a bakery to life despite other life commitments.
She bakes an assortment of home-made treats and fills the shed next to her front door, relying on the honesty of customers to pay by cash or online.
After her customers caught wind caught wind of the theft, the rest of her stock quickly sold out and one customer even offered her money which she politely declined.
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Owner, Sabina Seidel, 39, initially thought the man was a supportive customer but the footage showed the moment she realised she had half her stock stolen
After the theft, the community came out in support of her business with the rest of her goods selling out on the same day
At the time of the break-in she said: ‘People have been so supportive, there are repeat customers and customers that come at the same time every single week.
‘Somebody came yesterday after they heard what happened to put money towards what happened but I didn’t take it.’
Despite the fact the man is said to have stolen half of her stock, Sabina said her only response was to bake even more than before.
She spent the remainder of her evening baking and re-stocked the shed the following morning.
The Treat Street Bake Shed uses an honesty system with a QR code for card payments and a cash box or money. It is open Monday to Friday.
