Repeat offender who stole bike at Gatwick Airport in full view of CCTV cameras jailed

A serial bike thief who was the subject of a suspended prison sentence for stealing bikes at Gatwick Airport has been sent to jail after he was caught on CCTV there taking another bicycle.

Sussex Police say that Max Huggett, aged 30, was identified after he was filmed looking at bikes that had been locked up in a bike shed close to the airport’s South Terminal at around 5.45pm on 23 January this year.

When the bike’s owner returned to where they had parked it, they discovered it had been taken.

As the UK’s second busiest airport, Gatwick is unsurprisingly protected by, among other things, and extensive network of CCTV cameras.

Officers from Sussex Police’s Divisional Intelligence Unit at Gatwick succeeded in identifying Huggett – previously of Colman Way, Redhill, Surrey, but whose address is now given as HM Prison Lewes – because he had previously been handed a suspended sentence due to similar thefts at the airport.

A search of Huggett’s home resulted in clothing being discovered that matched the outfit he was wearing in the CCTV footage and detectives from Gatwick CID then built the case against him.

On 4 March, Huggett pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown Court to theft of a pedal cycle as well as breaching the terms of his suspended sentence, and was jailed for a total of 15 months.

In a statement released by Sussex Police, investigating officers PC Michelle Robinson and Detective Sergeant Ian Warncken said: “Huggett has been a repeat offender at Gatwick Airport where he has stolen bicycles and property.

“It causes disruption to victims who have worked their shift at the airport and return to find their property has been stolen.

“This case demonstrates that we will work with our partners to identify and catch offenders and stop them causing harm to other victims,” they added.