How a McDonald’s led to a prolific thief being caught
A prolific car thief has been given a three-year sentence for stealing two cars in Shrewsbury within weeks of each other, after he was identified from a McDonald's order.
Callum Roberts, of HMP Brinsford near Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, fraud by false representation and two counts of driving while disqualified.
The 20-year-old was sentenced on Thursday, 10 July, at Shrewsbury Crown Court, and was also given a four-year and two-month driving ban which will come into force on release.
During the sentencing the court heard how Roberts took the first car, a silver BMV, from a car park near St Julian's Crescent in Shrewsbury on Saturday 15 February at around 10pm.
Around two hours later traffic officers sighted the stolen vehicle and followed it, which caused the BMW to accelerate reaching speeds of around 60mph in a 30 zone.
During the pursuit the BMW narrowly missed colliding with another vehicle.
Officers then lost sight of the BMW, which was later found abandoned in Roden, a remote area of Shrewsbury. The driver of the vehicle had fled the scene.
When searching the vehicle for evidence, officers found a McDonald’s bag with a receipt showing the driver had been to the restaurant in Meole Brace shortly after taking the vehicle. Following CCTV enquires officers were able to establish Roberts as the driver of the stolen vehicle.
Around two weeks later, on Saturday 1 March, a report was made that car keys belonging to a Citroen C3 Aircross were taken from an address on Brougham Square in Shrewsbury. The following night the thief returned to take the vehicle.
On Wednesday 5 March officers sighted the stolen vehicle in the north of Shrewsbury, where again it failed to stop and led officers on a highspeed chase through residential areas.
The vehicle reached speeds of around 60mph in a 20 zone, went the wrong way around a roundabout before joining the A5 on the wrong carriageway, where it reached speeds of 100mph, narrowly avoiding a HGV.
Eventually the car stopped in a layby and the driver, who was identified as Roberts, fled before being caught and arrested.
During the investigation led by Shropshire’s Serious Acquisitive Crime Team, they discovered that Roberts had also fraudulently used bank cards belonging to the owner of the Citroen to buy a McDonald’s shortly after the vehicle was reported stolen.
Roberts was subsequently charged with the offences, which he pleaded guilty to in May 2025 at Shrewsbury Crown Court.
Detective Constable Tom Clough, said: “I hope yesterday's sentence serves as a warning that we will work tirelessly to ensure those who cause distress to the public by taking what does not belong to them, as well as putting lives at risk by their actions, are put before the courts.
“Not only was he driving stolen vehicles, Roberts was aware that he was driving whilst disqualified and his willingness to engage in such risk taking to evade capture on two separate occasions is something that caused officers great concern.
“This was a team effort and if it wasn't for the commitment of my team as well as our roads policing officers, we couldn't have achieved such a good result in such a short space of time.
“I am pleased with the sentence at court, which I hope gives the victims some sort of closure, as well as time for Roberts to reflect on how dangerous his actions were, which could have had tragic consequences given the lack of care for the safety of others and himself.”
