Man jailed following high value watch theft in Northwich

A man who stole a valuable watch from a pensioner in Northwich has been jailed.

Jack Frankland appeared at Bradford Crown Court on Monday 8 January where he was sentenced to a total of 48-months in prison. 

The sentence included 16 months consecutive in relation to a theft in Northwich which the 21-year-old, of HMP Doncaster, had earlier pleaded guilty to.

During the hearing the court was told how the victim had decided to sell his Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea watch, valued at £10,750, on Facebook Marketplace.

In March he was contacted by Frankland who claimed that he wanted to buy the watch as a present for his dad.

The pair agreed to a price of £10,000 and arranged to meet in Northwich at 2pm on 26 March to handover the cash and collect the watch.

The victim specifically stated that the wanted to meet somewhere with CCTV cameras, so they agreed to meet at Costa Coffee at Tesco on Manchester Road.

Frankland arrived at the coffee shop shortly after 2pm and after a quick conversation about the watch, the victim placed the item on the table so he could examine it.

However, around a minute later and without warning, Frankland grabbed the watch and ran out of the store before fleeing the area on foot.

A member of staff from the store later took a photo of Frankland after she spotted him hanging around the Gladstone Club car park on Station Road.

The victim later reported the incident to police and during their enquiries, officers discovered that Frankland had travelled to Northwich from Bradford in a grey Vauxhall Corsa which was displaying false number platers.

They also discovered that he had subsequently left the area after calling for a taxi using a mobile phone.

Officers traced the phone to Frankland and he was subsequently interviewed by officers where he was on remand for unrelated matters. Searches were also carried out at his house, but the watch was never recovered.

Following the sentencing Detective Constable Claire Heatley, of Northwich Proactive Policing Unit, said:

“This case acts as a timely reminder to everyone about the risks of selling and buying items online.

“Whenever you’re planning to buy or sell items, it’s essential that you do your research, it’s important that you use official sales websites, and always pay via a recommended payment site, otherwise if something goes wrong you may not be able to recover your money.

“Thankfully, in this case the victim was able to recover some of his losses through his insurance, but this isn’t always the case.”

Pictured - Jack Frankland.