Tesco Heywood: arrest warrant after £37 gammon shoplifting, Manchester 2026

Key Points

• Arrest warrant issued against Richard Outhwaite, 43, of Marlor Court, Heywood.
• He pleaded guilty of stealing £37 of gammon meat from Tesco Stores, York Street, Heywood on 27 July 2026.
• Richard Outhwaite was found guilty of shoplifting at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 28 July 2026.
• His plea of not guilty was accepted, and he was put on bail. His bail barred him from going into Tesco York Street, Tesco Bury Street and Asda Express, Heywood.
• On 5 August 2026, he was arrested for violating the bail conditions by entering Tesco York Street.
• He pleaded guilty of the breach of bail conditions at court on 6 August 2026 and placed on bail again pending sentencing on 25 September 2026 at Tameside Magistrates’ Court.
• He did not show up for his sentencing hearing; therefore, an arrest warrant without bail was issued.

Manchester (Manchester Mirror) October 02, 2026 — An arrest warrant has been issued for a Heywood man after he admitted stealing £37 worth of gammon from a Tesco store and subsequently breached his bail conditions, according to court listings reported by the Bury Times. Richard Outhwaite, aged 43, of Marlor Court, Heywood, pleaded guilty to shoplifting at Manchester Magistrates’ Court following the incident on 27 July 2026, the court record shows.

The theft occurred at Tesco Stores on York Street in Heywood, where Outhwaite took gammon valued at £37, the court listing states. He entered his guilty plea the following day, 28 July, and was released on conditional bail pending the preparation of a pre-sentence report, as reported by the Bury Times.

His bail conditions included a prohibition on entering Tesco stores on York Street and Bury Street in Heywood, as well as Asda Express in the town, the court record indicates. He was also required to report to Bury Police Station between noon and 2pm on Wednesdays, according to the listing cited by the Bury Times.

On 5 August 2026, Outhwaite was arrested in Heywood after police said he had breached the condition banning him from Tesco York Street, the court listing shows. He admitted the breach at court on 6 August and was re-admitted to bail to attend Tameside Magistrates’ Court in Ashton-under-Lyne at 10am for sentencing on 25 September, the record states. However, he did not appear for that hearing, and a warrant for his arrest without bail was issued by the court, according to the Bury Times report.

How did the case proceed through Manchester and Tameside magistrates’ courts?

The matter moved swiftly through the local magistrates’ system after the initial shoplifting offence. As reported by the Bury Times, Outhwaite pleaded guilty at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 28 July 2026, one day after the alleged theft. Following that plea, he was granted conditional bail while a pre-sentence report was prepared, a standard step before sentencing in such cases.

After his arrest for the alleged bail breach on 5 August, Outhwaite appeared in court again on 6 August and admitted the breach, according to the court listing cited by the Bury Times. He was then re-bailed with a requirement to attend Tameside Magistrates’ Court in Ashton-under-Lyne for sentencing on 25 September 2026, the record shows. His failure to attend that hearing triggered the issuance of the arrest warrant without bail, the Bury Times reports.

What bail conditions were imposed and how were they breached?

The conditional bail imposed after Outhwaite’s guilty plea included specific geographic restrictions designed to prevent further offences at the same locations. As set out in the court listing reported by the Bury Times, he was prohibited from entering Tesco stores on York Street and Bury Street in Heywood, as well as Asda Express in the town.

In addition to the store bans, he was required to report to Bury Police Station between noon and 2pm on Wednesdays, according to the same court record. Police alleged that on 5 August 2026 he breached the condition by entering Tesco York Street, leading to his arrest in Heywood, the Bury Times reports. Outhwaite admitted that breach at court on 6 August, the listing states.

What are the next steps after an arrest warrant is issued in this case?

Once a magistrates’ court issues an arrest warrant without bail, law enforcement is authorised to locate and detain the individual named in the warrant. In this instance, the warrant was issued after Outhwaite failed to appear for his scheduled sentencing hearing at Tameside Magistrates’ Court on 25 September 2026, according to the Bury Times.

Following arrest on the warrant, he would be brought before a magistrates’ court to address both the original shoplifting offence and the bail breach, with sentencing then expected to proceed. The court record does not specify a new sentencing date, and the Bury Times report does not include further details beyond the warrant’s issuance.

Background to the development

Shoplifting cases involving low-value items frequently proceed through magistrates’ courts with guilty pleas followed by conditional bail and pre-sentence reports, particularly where the defendant admits the offence promptly. In this instance, the £37 value of the gammon and the quick guilty plea on 28 July 2026 align with that pattern, as reported by the Bury Times.

Bail conditions that prohibit entry to specific retail premises are commonly imposed in shoplifting matters to reduce the risk of reoffending at the same locations. The alleged breach on 5 August 2026, involving Tesco York Street, directly contravened one of those conditions, leading to a separate admission and re-bailing ahead of the scheduled sentencing, according to the court listing cited by the Bury Times.

The issuance of an arrest warrant without bail follows standard procedure when a defendant fails to attend a scheduled court hearing after being released on bail. The warrant in this case was issued by the court after Outhwaite did not appear for sentencing on 25 September 2026, the Bury Times reports.

Prediction: How this development may affect local retailers and court users

This sequence of events is likely to reinforce caution among local retailers in Heywood regarding low-value shoplifting incidents, given that even small thefts can lead to extended court processes and enforcement actions. Stores such as Tesco on York Street and Bury Street, along with Asda Express, may continue to rely on specific bail conditions to deter repeat offences, as seen in this case.

For court users and defendants in similar circumstances, the outcome underscores the importance of complying with bail conditions and attending all scheduled hearings. Failure to appear, even after admitting offences and breaches, can result in arrest warrants without bail and more immediate custody upon apprehension, as occurred here according to the Bury Times.