A former criminology lecturer who branded herself “the UK’s poshest thief” has avoided immediate jail for a second time after stealing nearly £12,000 worth of alcohol to fund a drug addiction.
Pauline Al Said, 35, was convicted of stealing £11,964 worth of prosecco, wine, vodka and gin during a nine-month shoplifting campaign primarily targeting Sainsbury’s stores.
Southampton Crown Court heard that Al Said concealed high-value bottles of alcohol in her shopping trolley by placing Disney dresses and dressing gowns over them before leaving the store without paying.
Former Academic With History of High-Value Theft
Al Said first gained national attention in 2024 after being convicted of stealing more than £1,000 worth of Le Creuset cookware, premium steaks, wine and gin. She and her then husband, Mark Wheatcroft, 56, were fined a total of £2,500 for daylight thefts at a garden centre and a Marks & Spencer branch.
At the time, Judge Keith Cutler opted for a financial penalty after concluding that Al Said, from Southampton, Hampshire, would not comply with community service requirements.
Since that conviction, the former senior criminology lecturer at Bath Spa University has referred to herself on social media as “the UK’s poshest thief”.
‘Campaign Against Sainsbury’s’
The court was told that Al Said carried out what was described as a “campaign against Sainsbury’s”, visiting the supermarket on six occasions to steal alcohol and meat. On one occasion, she even sat in the store’s café afterwards to read a newspaper she had stolen.
Prosecutors said the stolen goods were easily resold to fund a drug addiction.
Al Said, who is originally from Poland and moved to the UK in 2007, told the court she had recently left what was described as a “toxic relationship” with her husband at the end of last year.
Suspended Sentence and Supermarket Ban
Judge Gary Lucie sentenced Al Said to 44 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months. She was also ordered to attend 28 rehabilitation days, repay £1,800 to Sainsbury’s just over 15 per cent of the value of the stolen goods and was banned from entering the supermarket chain for 18 months.
“You stole mostly alcohol and seemed to target Sainsbury’s,” the judge said. “This was a campaign of high-value shoplifting over nine months. However, you have shown what I consider to be genuine remorse.”
New Identity and Life Coaching Business
In recent months, Al Said has changed her professional name to Pauline Tusien and launched a website offering life and career mentoring services.
“If your life looks great on paper but feels crap in real life, we need to talk,” she wrote on the site, where she claims to support people with wellbeing and personal clarity.
Her barrister, Emily Jarrod, told the court that Al Said had “turned a corner”, was living with her mother, had ended her relationship with Wheatcroft and had resumed contact with her sister.
Judge Lucie told Al Said she was “a highly intelligent woman” who could “do a lot of good” if she remained on the path of rehabilitation.
