Fortnum & Mason ‘bubbly thief’ claimed he forgot to pay

  A property developer accused of pinching eight bottles of champagne from Fortnum & Mason claimed he forgot to pay as he left the store to take a phone call, a court heard. Douglas Vallender, 52, allegedly swiped the bubbly from the famous Piccadilly department store in London’s West End on 1 May last year. The Cornwall-based businessman, along with a 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, walked out with £348 worth of champagne without paying shortly after…