[bbfan1991]

Three men are to stand trial after allegedly taking cheese, tomatoes and cakes from bins behind an Iceland shop.

Paul May, 35, William James, 23, and Jason Chan, 31, all of no fixed address, were arrested in Kentish Town in north London last October.

At a court hearing in November, they denied being found in or upon enclosed premises, contrary to section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824.

The men will next appear at Highbury Magistrates' Court on 3 February.

'Waste and austerity'

The items allegedly taken from the store's bins amounted to a total value of £33 and included tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and Mr Kipling cakes.

The defendants are expected to say they had been "skipping" - a term used for taking food that would otherwise go to waste from a bin or skip.

Mike Schwarz from law firm Bindmans, who is representing the men, said: "The prosecutor's view that there is a significant public interest in expending public money to prosecute 'skippers' at times of shortage, waste and austerity, seems at best short-sighted, at worst perverse and certainly disproportionate.

"The defendants will say that they were not acting dishonestly."

FREE THE ICELAND THREE. Not, only joking.

[arista]

http://www.thisisbigbrother.com/foru...d.php?t=245833

post by ammi a hour or so back