Police were informed that the thief who stole from a charity shop claimed to have been a trained burglar like Bilbo Baggins.

At 66 years old, Garry Pitt found himself in quite the predicament when he was caught on CCTV stealing a bucket hat from the Ani-Mel Haven charity shop in Workington, Cumbria. Pitt, who denied the theft, couldn't help but reference the main character of JRR Tolkien's beloved novel, The Hobbit, as he explained himself to the police. He was eventually found guilty of the crime and was ordered to pay £384 by the Workington Magistrates' Court.

According to the prosecutors, Pitt took the blue bucket hat from a mannequin, placed it on his head, and left the shop without paying on November 28th of last year. However, thanks to some eagle-eyed cops who reviewed the CCTV footage, Pitt was caught in the act. In fact, they even spotted him sitting inside their own police station. It was there that officers approached him and asked about the theft.

During the encounter, Pitt handed over the hat and made a curious statement. He claimed that "there was nobody about", as if that justified his actions. The police even played bodycam footage in court where Pitt could be heard telling the officer, "Bilbo Baggins was a trained burglar, did you know that?" It seemed as though Pitt was trying to justify his actions by comparing himself to the famous character from Tolkien's novel.

In his defense, Pitt explained that he had simply forgotten the hat was on his head when he left the shop. It wasn't until he was on his way to a police appointment that he realized his mistake. Prosecutor Pamela Fee questioned Pitt, who was wearing leg braces, about why he didn't return the hat as soon as he realized his error. Pitt's response was that he couldn't go back because he was already on his way to the police station. He claimed that he didn't know he had committed a crime and that, to him, it was just a hat. He even stated that if no one had mentioned the theft at the police station, he would have probably gone back to the shop. However, due to his injuries, he couldn't have walked all the way back to the shop.

In the end, Pitt was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine. It seems that his love for literature got the best of him in this situation, but hopefully, he learned his lesson and won't be invoking any fictional characters in the future.

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