TWO thieves who stole a wallet from an 82-year-old man have been arrested trying to leave the country on the day they were due in court.

The pair were caught by police at Holyhead Port in breach of bail conditions.

Both Iulian Vladu and Florin Moga were due to be sentenced for theft and fraud at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on November 14.

The defendants were arrested by North Wales police for breaching bail conditions requiring them to live at addresses at the opposite side of the country.

Posting on social media, Warrington Town Centre Police said: “Believing that both males were on route out of the UK to avoid their day in court, the courts have remanded them in prison until early December 2024.”

Moga, 33, of Foleshill Road, Coventry, and Vladu, 47, of Sheffield Road, Scunthorpe, were charged with stealing a wallet containing £400 cash, a driving licence and other miscellaneous cards from a man on September 25 in Warrington.

Further fraud charges alleged that they dishonestly made a false representation to cause a loss to the same male victim to the value of £1,000 by withdrawing money from his bank account on the same day.

Vladu also faced a third separate allegation of theft from a person, again in Warrington but on a separate male victim on October 16 last year, and of a wallet and its contents.

The duo entered guilty pleas to all charges and were due to have been sentenced this week, whilst being assisted by a Romanian interpreter.

Both defendants had been granted conditional bail on an electronically monitored curfew.