A Northerner who broke into an industrial unit and made off with 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs has been sent to prison.
32-year-old Joby Pool – who is from Tingley near Leeds, and has aptly been referred to as the “Easter bunny” by local police – managed to steal more than a whopping £31,000 worth of the beloved Cadbury chocolate eggs after breaking into an industrial unit in Telford in Shropshire earlier this year on 11 February.
The court heard this week how Pool used a metal grinder to break into the premises, and then drove off in a stolen lorry with a trailer full of the sweet treats.
Pool had previously admitted to theft, criminal damage to a lock at the trailer park, and driving without insurance.
Northern thief who stole 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs handed jail time / Credit: Pxfuel
At the hearing at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday (20 July), the court heard Pool had used a tractor unit that had been stolen in the Yorkshire area last October to tow the trailer full of Creme Eggs away from the Stafford Park-based industrial unit belonging to SW Group Logistics, before the stolen eggs were then driven on to the northbound M42.
When West Mercia Police eventually located Pool, he was said to have surrendered by walking towards officers “with his hands up” near junction 11.
After Pool’s subsequent arrest, the police force took to social media to assure the public they had “helped save Easter”, and confirmed that as well as the Creme Egg haul, officers also found “a number of other chocolate varieties” had been stolen.
Police also found “a number of other chocolate varieties” had been stolen / Credit: Brett Jordan (via Flickr)
Pool has now been jailed for 18 months – half of which is to be spent in prison, and the other half on licence, with the six months that he has already spent in police custody to be counted towards his nine months in jail.
Judge Anthony Lowe also added one month to be served concurrently for the criminal damage offence, and added six points to Pool’s licence for driving without insurance.
Judge Lowe said he was not convinced Pool was the only person involved in the planning of the theft and there was a “significant degree” of preparation, but Debra White, who was defending Pool, said he has shown “genuine remorse” for what he had done.
White also claimed Pool was sorry for the effect it had had on his family and the company involved.
Featured Image – Cadbury UK
News
Oasis left ‘shocked and saddened’ after fan falls to his death at Wembley Stadium concert
Emily Sergeant
Oasis have been left ‘shocked and saddened’ after a fan sadly fell to his death at one of the band’s Wembley Stadium concerts.
According to media reports, the man fell from the stadium’s upper tier.
Metropolitan Police confirmed in a statement that officers on duty at the stadium on Saturday night (2 August) responded, alongside venue medics and the London Ambulance Service, at around 10:20pm to reports that a person had been injured, and when they arrived at the scene that found that a man in his 40s sustained injuries ‘consistent with a fall’.
Despite the best efforts of all emergency services involved, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
A concertgoer on social media said they saw the incident and described it as ‘horrific’, and the police are presuming that many other present at the concert will have also witnessed the event – therefore urging them to come forward with any information they may have.
“The stadium was busy, and we believe it is likely a number of people witnessed the incident, or may knowingly or unknowingly have caught it on mobile phone video footage,” Met Police said in a statement.
“If you have any information that could help us to confirm what happened, please call 101.”
Alongside the police appeal, tributes have been pouring in for the man who lost his life – including from Oasis and support act Richard Ashcroft.
Together with their bandmates, Liam and Noel Gallagher have offered their ‘sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person involved’.
Richard Ashcroft wrote in tribute on Instagram: “I was shocked to hear of the death of one of the audience last night. Sending my love to the family and friends.”
A tribute statement was also issued by a spokesperson for Wembley Stadium: “Our thoughts go out to his family, who have been informed and are being supported by specially trained police officers.”
Oasis performed the final show of their five-night run at Wembley last night, and from here will now head up to Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and the United States, before returning to Wembley for two more dates in September.
The top 13 biggest gigs in Manchester music history
Thomas Melia
When you think of Manchester one of the first things that comes to mind obviously after ‘best city in the world’ is one word: ‘music’.
Our capital of the North West has birthed some of the world’s greatest singers of all time and welcomed some of the planet’s biggest stars.
Manchester has many live music venues to host impressive gigs including stadiums, arenas, parks and a wide variety of performance spaces.
The real reason these artists keep coming back is because of you, everyone who shows up and shows out to every single tour and performance happening in our culturally rich city.
Although not 2008, here is Kylie in all her grandeur at AO Arena in 2014 / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
With a tour titled ‘KylieX2008’, the Aussie sensation made our heads spin around in 2008 as she graced the AO Arena for six nights of pop perfection from 11 July to 18 July.
Minogue has a special connection to Manchester and this arena specifically, performing here over 30 times to a total of 400,000 people.
Taylor Swift performing on the B-Stage at Etihad Stadium in 2018 / Credit: The Manc Group
‘Baby let the games begin!’ Swift opened her ‘Reputation Stadium Tour’ in 2018 while standing behind a backdrop of snakes, scales and reptile-like patterns.
The legendary pop star commanded the stage even walking through the crowd to greet fans with smiles and high fives, making sure to get up close and personal even in a venue this grand.
‘Tay-Tay’s last visit to the North West saw her playing three nights of her monumental ‘The Eras Tour’ just a stone’s throw away at Anfield Stadium and who knows, maybe once the Etihad renovation is complete, she might be keen to make another appearance.
11. Oasis: 80,000 – Maine Road (1996)
In signature Liam style, the tambourine is in hand and ready to accompany both the brother’s vocals.In signature Liam style, the tambourine is in hand and ready to accompany both the brother’s vocals / Credit:Wikimedia Commons
The Burnage boys were always destined to be on this list in one way or another due to their incredible impact in pushing Manchester music and bands to the mainstream.
Singing hits from their well-known music catalogue, Oasis attracted 80,000 to Manchester City’s former ground in the mid-90s.
Unlike the tour taking place in 2025, tickets for this gig would’ve only set you back £17.50, you’d have been silly not to grab yourself one!
10. Drake: 94,000 – Co-op Live (2025)
Drake played four non-consecutive gigs at Co-op Live with roars from the crowd each night/ Credit: The Come Up Show (via Flickr)
Canadian rap heavyweight Drake played four huge Co-op Live dates as recent as last week and with two more on the way, with four nights of smash hits
Also referred to as Champagne Papi, the hip-hop artist has played out four impressive nights at Co-op Live on a similarly impressive 360 stage which sees Drake getting up close and personal with fans.
His 2025 visit to the music capital of the North marks his largest scale gig to date and saw him sharing the bill with fellow Canadian performer PartyNextDoor.
9. Billie Eilish – 94,000 – Co-op Live (2025)
Global superstar Billie Eilish had the crowd hooked all four nights at Co-op Live / Credit: Lars Crommelnick via Wikimedia Commons
Bedroom-pop sensation turned global megastarBillie Eilish has visited Manchester three times through her rise to stardom with her most recent being at Co-op Live.
The American singer-songwriter played four non-consecutive nights of her current ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ tour, where she commanded 23,500 fans.
Eilish has a soft spot for Manchester as she debuted her single ‘TV’ at AO Arena in 2022 and brought out her brother and fellow musician Finneas as a special guest at her most recent city centre dates.
8. Harry Styles: 99,526 – Old Trafford Cricket Ground (2022)
The former One Direction star Harry Styles spent two nights in June spreading the love with his mega ‘Love On Tour’ and the feeling was definitely mutual.
On 15 and 16 June the ‘Watermelon Sugar’ singer had nearly 100,000 devotees in the palm of his hand as he belted out some of his best solo numbers.
The Cheshire-born superstar even paused his show to find his primary school teacher who he’d been informed was in the crowd, thanking her for all her help and hard work while he was in education. Adorable.
7. Foo Fighters: 100,000 – Old Trafford Cricket Ground (2024)
The Washington-formed band put on two impressive nights where Mancs witnessed ‘music royalty’ on their ‘Everything or Nothing at All Tour’ in June.
As well as ‘The Pretender’ hitmakers, the sold-out shows were spoilt with not one but four support acts split across the two dates, including Wet Leg.
On 13 June the rock champions even previewed an unreleased track ‘Unconditional’ for the first time, adding it to the setlist for the 15 June show too!
Foo Fighters played out to 100,000 people at Old Trafford Cricket Ground / Credit: The Manc Group / Publicity Picture (Supplied)
6. Spice Girls: 150,955 – Etihad Stadium (2019)
Etihad Stadium and Spice Girls spiced up our lives three times in 2019 with three non-consecutive performances from 29 May to 1 June.
This tour was missing one key ingredient, ‘Posh Spice’, who missed out on this string of shows for the first time in her career.
In addition to these four fierce ladies, another UK household act Jess Glynne joined them on the bill as a support act. The girls were met with raptures as they made their entrance to Manchester after 11 years since their last visit.
Just look at those iconic fits! Spice Girls performing at Wembley Stadium on the same tour that visited Manchester / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
In 2023 they brought their Music Of The Spheres world tour to Manchester from 31 May to 4 June for four nights of dazzling lights, wowed fans and of course incredible live arrangements.
Altogether, these shows brought together almost 200,000 attendees who had the opportunity to get involved with the show’s production themselves by cycling electric bikes and kinetic dancefloor which both helped power the stage.
The Coldplay lads in all their glory.An awe-inspiring crowd lighting up the already phenomenal Etihad Stadium.Coldplay performed four nights at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium in 2023 / Credit: Wikicommons / The Manc Group
4. Ed Sheeran: 218,639 – Etihad Stadium (2022)
Starting his musical career just over the hill busking in Hebden Bridge before becoming one of the UK’s most prominent and successful artists of all time.
In 2022, the ‘Galway Girl’ singer took to Manchester City‘s awesome stadium to play hits from his full discography titled ‘The Mathematics Tour’ in honour of his equation-themed album titles.
The one-man, one-guitar show attracted almost 55,000 people across four nights who watched the singing red-head belt out his bangers on a 360 circular stage.
Ed Sheeran at V Festival in 2014, already a star in his own right / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
3. The Stone Roses: 225,000 – Heaton Park (2012)
The Manchester rock pioneers played a three-night hometown residency as part of their reunion tour following a 17-year concert hiatus.
Fans came in abundance to pack out to Heaton Park, a notorious music-hosting site which has hosted a plethora of acts as well as this formidable band.
Spanning from 29 June to 1 July, The Stone Roses played to a whopping 75,000 fans every night across the three sold-out Manchester shows at Heaton Park in 2012.
The Stone Roses performing at Fuji Rock Festival in 2012, the same year as their Heaton Park residency / Credit: Wikicommons Media
2. Oasis – 400,000 – Heaton Park (2025)
This year has seen some cracking live music events but none will ever be as monumental as the five nights the two Burnage boys and their troupe hosted this summer.
Liam and Noel Gallagher decided to get the band back together for a series of groundbreaking shows titled ‘Oasis Live ’25’.
Each night drew in 80,000 avid bucket-hat wearing Oasis fans and the support acts were just as legendary with The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft and Liverpool lads Cast helping make history.
Oasis was one of the biggest dates in Manchester’s music calendar ever/ Credit: The Manc Group
In 2011, ‘The Flood’ boys put on a remarkable eight nights for nearly half a million lucky Mancs from 3 June till 12 June, making for a summer everyone could ‘Never Forget’.
However, they weren’t the only boyband gracing the Manchester City stadium as dance duo Pet Shop Boys supported them on their ‘Progress Live’ tour across the UK.
A fan-captured moment of Take That reunited amidst their eight show run at Etihad Stadium in Manchester/ Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Honourable mention:
One Love Manchester, 55,000 – Old Trafford Cricket Ground (2017)
Even though this event may not be topping the attendance records, this concert was a special and remarkable moment in Manchester’s history.
Fronted by Ariana Grande, just two weeks after the Manchester Arena attack, Old Trafford Cricket Ground saw a multitude of artists coming together to celebrate the importance of music while paying respect to those affected by the events in the month prior.
BBC reported the ‘One Love Manchester’ live show had 14.5 million viewers at its peak with an average of 10.9 million worldwide and this benefit concert has since raised more than £10 million for the ‘We Love Manchester Emergency Fund’.
Emily Sergeant -
21st July 2023 
