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Charity teddy thief who turned himself in fined by court

The theft from Goulds Garden Centre in Weymouth was caught on CCTV. Credit: Dorset Police

A thief who stole a giant teddy bear from a Weymouth garden centre but turned himself in out of guilt has been fined by a court.

26-year-old Brodie Few was caught on CCTV swiping the four-foot teddy, which was to be the top prize in a charity raffle in memory of a woman who died of cancer.

The teddy gets pride of place in a Dorset Police van. Credit: Dorset Police

When Few saw reports on the theft and how devastated the organisers of the raffle were, he walked into a police station with the bear and gave himself up. Three suspects who appear to have been working with him did not do this and have not been identified.

The items were returned to Goulds Garden Centre, which said it had had "overwhelming" support from the community, including donations of prizes to replace the ones stolen.

PC Nick Gravenor from Weymouth police hands over the giant teddy bear to Penny Corp-Palmer from Goulds Garden Centre, ready to be raffled off. Credit: Dorset Police

Few's defense counsel said that he had not realised the items were for a charity raffle, and suffered from memory problems relating to a brain tumour.

The Weymouth magistrates' court handed Few a community order, a five-week curfew restricting when he can leave home and ordered him to pay court costs and fines of £145.