Officers pursuing two thieves fleeing the scene of a smash-and-grab burglary at a supermarket had glass bottles hurled at them.
The police helicopter and dog unit were deployed to arrest Keenan White and Craig Knowles, who broke into Lidl in Warrington and filled blue baskets to the brim with stock.
Knowles also went on to target another Lidl store in Lancashire in a strikingly similar way, before being brought before the courts to face charges.
The 42-year-old, of Liverpool Road in Eccles, was charged with burglary and dangerous driving in relation to the matters in Warrington.
He also faced charges of burglary, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, and driving without insurance in relation to the Lancashire matters.
Knowles appeared before Preston Crown Court via video-link from prison on Monday to be sentenced, with White being sentenced at Warrington Magistrates’ Court.
The Warrington matters occurred at around 3.50am on March 3, 2025, when Knowles and White attended the Lidl supermarket on Thelwall Lane in Latchford, explained Megan Cox, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court.
Both of the defendants were wearing face coverings when they damaged the front of the store to gain entry.
Once inside, they grabbed blue baskets and proceeded to fill them with products from the shelves such as meat and alcohol, as well as items from a charity box intended for donation to the NSPCC.
The duo then filled the boot of their silver Vauxhall Zafira and drove away.
Cheshire Police was notified following security systems at the store being activated, and officers encountered the defendants as their car turned onto Kingsway South.
The officers activated their blue lights, but Knowles drove off along Knutsford Road heading towards Warrington town centre, reaching 60mph in a 30mph zone.
During the pursuit, glass bottles were thrown from the Vauxhall towards the police vehicle following them.
As the chase reached the Walton Arms pub, Knowles stopped in the road and reversed into the pursuing police car, before again making off on Chester Road.
In a bid to evade arrest, the defendant turned his lights off, and officers lost sight of the vehicle.
However, a member of the public phoned 999 to report seeing two men on CCTV at the bottom of her drive, matching the description of the two defendants, removing items from the boot of their car.
Officers made their way to the location and, assisted by the police helicopter and dog unit, they were able to locate the pair in a nearby wooded area.
Knowles was identified as the driver, but he refused to carry out a roadside breath test or a drug wipe, the court heard.
A total of £2,844.03 worth of stock had been stolen from Lidl in Latchford, of which £1,484.91 was recovered from the car.
White, aged 25 and also of Liverpool Road, admitted charges of burglary and assaulting an emergency worker at a previous hearing.
He was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay compensation of £400 to Lidl and £100 to the police officer he assaulted, as well as court costs of £85.
Knowles’ sentencing was adjourned to tie up with a second burglary he carried out at another Lidl store in Penwortham, near Preston, at around 2am on August 23 this year – while on bail for the Warrington incident.
Again, he attended the store wearing a face covering with two co-defendants and stole around £3,500 worth of meat and alcohol products.
Lancashire Police was contacted following a security alert, and officers attended the scene before the thieves fled in a grey Vauxhall Astra.
Once again, officers activated their blue flashing lights and pursued Knowles behind the wheel, who drove at high speed with his lights turned off.
He was arrested as he tried to flee the car after driving down a dead end, with a hammer recovered from the car that was used in the burglary.
Checks revealed that Knowles was driving while disqualified and without third-party insurance in place.
One co-defendant was handed a six-month prison sentence, while the other was sentenced to a 12-month community order.
Preston Crown Court was told that Knowles has 31 previous convictions for 96 offences, including 42 for theft offences and previous for driving matters.
It was also said that he had burgled a home in between the Warrington and Lancashire Lidl burglaries.
In mitigation, Callum Stevens, defending, said that his client had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and experienced a difficult childhood, receiving his first methadone prescription aged 16.
It was said that he was offending to fund his addiction and that prison is not working, with the defendant admitting that he has become ‘institutionalised’.
The court heard that Knowles has received ‘nothing but prison sentences’ for the past 13 years, with Judge Samuel Preston agreeing to adjourn the hearing to seek a pre-sentence report outlining potential alternatives to jail.
The defendant was further remanded into custody and will appear back before Preston Crown Court to be sentenced on November 23.
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