‘Someone else broke in to the Co-op – so I helped myself’

A thief accused of swiping £18,000 from a Co-op claims he only stole five packets of cigarettes after burglars raided the shop. Alvin Reid, 46, allegedly ransacked the store on Fairview Rd, Norbury, with two other men on 25 July 2020. Prosecutors claim the men were acting together but Reid insists he was a ‘late burglar’ and only pinched five packets of cigarettes. Police found traces of his DNA at the scene but no CCTV footage has been provided to…