A GETAWAY driver working with criminals as they targeted a Workington supermarket was a 72-year-old political science graduate and ex-social worker.

Wealthy pensioner Jaafar Jaafar was prosecuted after he drove his accomplices Brian Old, 51, and 42-year-old Scott Longstaff, to the town’s Asda store where they stole a trolley load of booze that was worth more than £2,000.

As security staff tried to stop his van, the pensioner sped away, knocking over a traffic cone.

At Carlisle Crown Court, all three defendants were sentenced for their part in the failed shoplifting expedition in the town on November 7 last year. All admitted a single charge of theft.

The two younger defendants entered guilty pleas at the first opportunity but Jaafar abandoned his denial on the day his trial was due to begin on May 14, said prosecutor Brendan Burke. 

“The three of them travelled over from the Northeast on November 7 to the Asda store in Workington, with Mr Longstaff and Mr Old entering the store and stacking a trolley with goods worth £2,535,” said the barrister.

“They then walked straight out without paying. It was mainly alcohol they took. They unloaded it into the back of Mr Jaafar’s van and he then drove off at speed.

“Security staff attempted to stop the van but Mr Jaafar continued with the escape, knocking over a traffic cone as he made off.”

The court heard that Old, of no fixed abode, has 127 previous offences on his record and 67 of those were thefts. Longstaff, of Skipton Green, Gateshead, had 25 previous offences on his record, 18 of them thefts.

Jaafar, of Canning Street, Newcastle, had six offences on his record.

They included the evasion of tax duty, for which he was given a 28-month jail term. Neither of the younger two defendants was legally represented because their barrister failed to appear at court.

But Marc Atkins, for Jaafar, said his client had had an “interesting life,” which included him obtaining a master’s degree in political science from Durham University in 1981.

“He’s extremely knowledgeable about Arab states, and the Gaza conflict,” said the barrister. “He used to be a social worker. It’s not surprising that the Probation Service concluded that he has no criminogenic needs.

“He receives £2,700 per month, mainly in pension income from overseas.”

Judge Nicholas Barker noted that Old and Longstaff had been in prison on remand since November 7 last year, and had  therefore served the equivalent of a 14 month sentence.

He jailed the younger defendants each for 11 months. For Jaafar, he imposed a three-month jail term suspended for a year, along with a £1,000 fine, with a stipulation that he will serve five days in default should he fail to pay.

Old and Longstaff are likely to be released immediately because of the time they have already spent behind bars.