Pair accused of stolen champagne ‘bluff ’

A property developer and his teenage son stole eight bottles of champagne from Fortnum & Mason hoping to “bluff their way out” of the upmarket London shop, a court heard.

Douglas Vallender, 52, and Jack Vallender, 18, took the drinks from the Piccadilly department store in the West End on May 1, it is alleged.

The Cornwall-based businessman, who owns Valle Construction and Valdon Developments, based in St Ives, walked out with the bottles worth £348 without paying, Southwark Crown Court heard. The pair, of St Ives, claim they walked out the store and “forgot to pay”. They deny theft and the trial continues.