A court heard Fletcher walked into the Bannatyne Health Club & Spa in Ashford three times, making off with several wallets and bank cards from members’ lockers – using the money to buy cigarettes.
He has 32 previous convictions for 167 offences, with 110 of those for “theft and kindred offences” – but when he appeared before Sevenoaks magistrates on June 30, he was spared an immediate prison sentence.
Victoria McGrady, prosecuting, said: “He goes into gyms to get people’s bank cards and then uses them, and he’s done this before.
“He travelled to the health centre and entered by going through the turnstiles and into the locker rooms, stealing bank cards and money.”
The prosecutor said he stole £100 and a debit and two credit cards from Martin Hall and then used the cards to spend £83.45 at a petrol station on March 24.
The court heard Fletcher was identified via CCTV using the cards.
Ms McGrady said he went back to the same gym in Eureka Park on April 5 and stole £30 and two other cards from another gym user, Robert Davidson. He then used the cards three times in Costcutter, Tesco and Co-op.
The court heard he went back into the gym later that day and stole a Nationwide debit card, which he used to spend £82.65, and £60 cash from the locker of member Jason McKenna.
Fletcher, of Clement Hill, Hastings, was charged with three counts of burglary and six counts of fraud by false representation.
He admitted the offences when he appeared in court in May and a pre-sentencing report was ordered.
As well as stealing Robson Green’s wallet in 2011, Fletcher was jailed in 2023 for carrying out similar crimes.
Ms McGrady told the court the thief’s previous offences “aggravate these matters and they clearly pass the custody threshold”.
Russel Morling, defending, told the court his client had been in and out of prison in the past and that the last time he was jailed was in September 2024.
The lawyer said: “He came out and had to go into temporary accommodation and he should have been able to stay there for two years, but the council threw him out with just two weeks’ notice; they told him he’d made himself homeless when he went to prison.”
Fletcher then ended up sofa surfing and “taking controlled substances”.
“He was 49 when he started using heroin and cocaine,” Mr Morling said.
“He’d lost family members, and there was a relationship break-up.”
The lawyer said his client “knows he’s going to be caught” when he targets the lockers.
“He’s desperate, he’s nowhere to live,” Mr Morling said.
The lawyer said Fletcher is now on methadone and is living with his sister, who he is “getting on well with”.
Magistrates were also told Fletcher has a benign tumour on his pituitary gland – at the base of the brain.
The court heard he was now getting help with his addictions via a charity in the Hastings area and wanted to turn his life around.
Magistrates told Fletcher they had discussed what to do with him at great length as he had a long history of offending.
However, they said they had taken into account that he appeared to be getting his life on track when they decided what punishment they would give him.
As a result, they jailed him for all the offences for six months, but they suspended the term for two years.
The chairman of the bench added: “You seem to be stable with your sister and this all bodes well for the future.”
Fletcher was also made to pay compensation for the cash he stole from the three victims. He must pay a victim surcharge and court costs.
He owes the court a total of £429, which he will pay at a rate of £20 a month.