Father and son cleared of Fortnum & Mason champagne theft after 48 minutes of deliberations

A property developer and his teenage son who walked out of Fortnum & Mason with eight bottles of champagne have been cleared of theft after just 48 minutes of jury deliberations. Douglas Vallender, 52, and Jack Vallender, 18, were alleged to have swiped champagne from the famous Piccadilly department store in London’s West End on 1 May 2017. The Cornwall based businessman and his son walked out with the bottles of bubbly worth £348 without paying. The Vallenders faced a…