Four homeless Romanians who stole from British Legion at Tower of London avoid jail

FOUR Romanian drifters stole £350 worth of change from the Tower of London that was destined for the Royal British Legion, a court heard.

The money was returned to the British LegionIG

The money was returned to the British Legion

It was a privilege to return the donated money to the Royal British Legion.

PC Lee Juniper

The men picked up loose coins from an area in front of Traitors Gate that had been donated by tourists and eventually goes to charity. 

Staff and members of the public raised the alarm at the famous London attraction when they saw the men in the moat on Saturday January 31. It becomes submerged in water at high tide. 

As they tried to run away, they were stopped by a combination of army personnel and Tower staff.

Last week the quartet - Ieronim Cancel, 24, Albert Pruteanu, 19, Tarciziu Cancel and Istoc Ionut, both 22, of no fixed address – appeared at Thames Magistrates Court, London. 

They pleaded guilty to theft and were each given a six month conditional discharge and ordered to pay victim surcharges of £16. 

On Friday officers from Tower Hamlets returned to the Tower to return the cash to a Yeoman Warder of Her Majesty's Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as a Beefeater.

PC Lee Juniper, from Limehouse Police Station, said: "It was a privilege to return the donated money to the Royal British Legion.

"The officers who assisted in the arrest of the four men were new recruits, on their very first day out in Tower Hamlets."

As well as their conditional discharge, the men were each ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £16.

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