Thieves stole oil from luxury Heacham Manor Hotel while posing as delivery drivers

Two thieves posed as delivery drivers before proceeding to steal several cans of oil from a luxury hotel.

Ivan Genov, 34, and Andrey Lalev, 44, pleaded guilty to theft when they appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

The court heard that on the morning of October 31 last year, the pair pulled up outside the Heacham Manor Hotel.

They told the hotel’s head chef that they were dropping off a delivery - but in the time they were at the venue, they stole four cans of rapeseed oil containing a total of 20 litres.

They placed the cans in the rear of their van and drove away, but the incident was captured on CCTV footage.

The business alleged that the stole oil was worth £200, but the defendants insisted it was only valued at £20 and entered guilty pleas on that basis.

Mitigating for Genov and Lalev, duty solicitor Andrew Cogan told magistrates he had made inquiries to establish what the actual cost was.

He said that on Thursday morning, he phoned a company which purchases used cooking oil and asked how much he would be paid for 60 litres.

Mr Cogan said he was informed he would be handed £20.

“So it is not a figure in the basis of a plea that has been plucked out of thin air,” he said.

“With the greatest respect of the head chef at Heacham Manor Hotel… he has over-egged it fully.”

Mr Cogan added: “Neither have any relevant previous convictions, sir. You have a guilty plea indicated at the earliest opportunity.”

Magistrates accepted the solicitor’s argument regarding the price of the stolen oil.

Genov, who lives in Bulgaria and travelled to England solely for Thursday’s hearing, was fined £120.

He will also pay a £48 victim surcharge, £40 in court costs and £10 in compensation to the Heacham hotel.

Lalev, of Revesby Avenue in Boston, Lincolnshire, was handed identical financial penalties.