02/09/2026
Blidworth officers have secured a banning order against a shoplifter with a long history of thieving.
Gary Frew has been responsible for tormenting shops in Blidworth and Rainworth on and off for some time now.
Tesco Express stores in Mansfield Road, Blidworth, and Kirklington Road, Rainworth, have both found themselves targeted by the 48-year-old.
Frew is known to have stolen from the Mansfield Road-based shop on at least 15 separate occasions since the end of 2024, while also helping himself to items from Tesco in Rainworth too.
His regular offending has meant he's become a familiar face to staff in the stores and officers in our neighbourhood beat teams – meaning he was quickly identified after stealing from the Blidworth store on 27 June.
Having helped himself to packs of steaks on that occasion, Frew's face and name were circulated to us, with our officers then spotting and arresting him while they were on patrol in Blidworth.
He was subsequently charged with shop theft, with the Blidworth beat team managing to obtain a criminal behaviour order (CBO) by the time he admitted the offence at Mansfield Magistrates' Court last Tuesday (25 August).
Under the order, Frew, of Oak Avenue, Blidworth, is banned from entering Tesco Express in Blidworth and Rainworth for three years and will find himself before the courts facing criminal charges – and potentially prison – should he do this.
Sergeant Christian Hurley said: “We’re delighted to have obtained this CBO against Frew, who has persistently broken the law and stolen items from shops in our community.
"Having this order in place means that, should Frew continue to target our shops with his thieving, he will more than likely find himself behind bars.
"The neighbourhood beat team put in a lot of work to help secure this order, which we hope provides some reassurance to local business owners and shows how seriously we take this offending.
“We do find that a lot of shoplifting offences are carried out by the same group of repeat offenders, so anything we can do to stop these individuals is undoubtedly a good thing."
