Rolex thief jailed after stealing £10k watch from pensioner

Jack Frankland had agreed to pay £10,000 for a Rolex Sea-Dweller watch after it was put up for sale on Facebook Marketplace, Bradford Crown Court heard on Monday.

However, when the pair met at Costa Coffee in Northwich to handover the cash, Frankland suddenly snatched the watch and ran off.

The 21-year-old claimed he wanted to buy the expensive watch as a present for his dad, back in March.

The watch had been valued at £10,750.

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

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

Jack Frankland, 21, suddenly snatched a Rolex watch from a pensioner after agreeing to pay £10k for it (Image: Cheshire Police)

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.

During their enquiries, officers discovered that Frankland had travelled to Northwich from Bradford in a grey Vauxhall Corsa which was displaying false number plates.

They also found out 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 Frankland, of HMP Doncaster, appeared at Bradford Crown Court on Monday, January 8, where he was jailed for a total of 48 months in prison.

The sentence included 16 months consecutive in relation to another Northwich theft he had earlier pleaded guilty to.

Afterwards, 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.”