A man dubbed the UK’s most prolific gym thief has been jailed after stealing items worth more than £60,000 from lockers across London’s Square Mile.
Paul Hughes, 59, targeted hotels and fitness centres in a bid to repay a drug debt he had taken on, a court heard.
He stole watches, chains and wedding rings worth a total of £62,107 and was today (18/6) jailed for two years after admitting eight charges.
City of London Police labelled Hughes, of no fixed abode, as the “UK’s most prolific gym thief” following his sentencing.
Footage shows Hughes leaving one venue after a theft, using a gym towel to try and cover his face.
Inner London Crown Court heard Hughes has 75 previous convictions but, prior to the gym thefts, had not offended since 2015.
However Omar Soliman, defending, said his client had returned to crime after taking on a drug debt incurred by an ex-partner’s son – worth £12,000.
A pre-sentence report found that the man – who was not named – had his left hand “smashed up” and his house “firebombed”, leading to Hughes shouldering the debt.
Mr Soliman said: “This therefore does go some way in explaining the defendant’s return to offending behaviour, and whilst of course it was the wrong decision, it was primarily motivated by a desire to protect someone vulnerable from a real risk of harm.”
The court heard that Hughes, who has three children and two grandchildren, also stated in the report that his actions were “not ideal” but served a purpose – admitting that he shouldn’t have done it.
But he said that for a later offence he had “no excuse” as he was not under any duress – but was merely “opportunistic” in what was a decision made in 30 to 40 seconds.
Hughes struck across the City of London between July 30, 2024 and April 6, 2026.
He stole a £12,000 watch from a locker at a gym inside a hotel in one incident.
In another he stole a watch worth £6,500, a wedding ring, and a wallet from a Virgin Active gym – then proceeded to use the cards inside to take out £2,000 in cash from an ATM.
Hughes was arrested on April 6 after being identified using CCTV, and gave a no comment interview.
He later admitted seven counts of theft and one count of fraud.
And today Hughes, originally from Coventry, West Mids., was jailed for two years and had been prohibited from entering the City of London for five years.
Upon sentencing, Ms Recorder Ledward said: “The total value of the property you stole is in excess of £60,000. None of it has been recovered.
“I know that amongst the haul are two wedding rings as well as the expensive watched.
“I am satisfied therefore that something of what you stole must have had additional sentimental value to the owners.
“You have 75 previous sets of convictions for dishonesty offences committed between 1985-2015.
“These offences were not just a single relapse they were sustained over a significant period of time with increasing frequency.
“Balancing the overall value, the number of different victims, the period of the offending, your appalling record and personal mitigation in my judgement the correct sentence after trial would be one of a total of three years imprisonment.
“I apply a reduction of a full third.
“The prospects of rehabilitation are muted given your attitude.
“The fact that you chose to deal with whatever financial problems you had in this way gives me no confidence that you will comply in the future.
“The pre-sentence report rightly identified that you simply commit offences when you feel like you want to without consideration of the effect on others.”
PC Emilie Cox, of City of London Police, said: “Hughes is a prolific offender who deliberately chose to target luxury facilities, accessing the changing rooms and stealing from people’s lockers as they were exercising in the gym.
“The items he stole were of high value and some of the jewellery was also incredibly sentimental to the victims and unfortunately can never be replaced.
“People who visit gyms expect their belongings to be safe in their lockers and don’t tend to expect anyone to be looking over their shoulder and stealing their PIN.
“Unfortunately, we know this is a method used by prolific criminals.”
