Peterborough burglar who impersonated supermarket staff jailed

It happened in January

Author: Jon BurkePublished 3rd Feb 2026

A burglar, who pretended to be a member of staff, to get into a supermarket out-of-hours, has been jailed for a year.

William Fletcher, 42, managed to avoid detection by entering Asda, in Viersen Platz, Rivergate, Peterborough, through a rear loading area.

He did this twice, between 15 January and 29 January and broke in another two times in the same two-week period.

He stole various items including £1,000 of cigarettes and nearly £1300 of alcohol.

Fletcher was arrested and charged with the four burglaries, in addition to:

Theft of cosmetic items from B&M, in Bridge Street, Peterborough city centre, on 16 January

Theft of an e-bike from Asda, in Viersen Platz, Rivergate, on 29 January

Burglary of more than £2000 worth of tools from B&Q, in Maskew Avenue, Peterborough, on 29 January

Theft of a milkshake from Asda, in Viersen Platz, Rivergate, on 30 January

After admitting the offences at Huntingdon Magistrates’ Court on Saturday (31 January), Fletcher, of no fixed address, was jailed for a year and ordered to pay £272 in compensation.

PC Rebecca Risebrow, from the spree offender team, said: “Fletcher was determined to get away with these crimes and went to great lengths to access the buildings.

“These high-value thefts can have a big impact on businesses, and the sentence reflects the seriousness and frequency of offending.”

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