South Shields couple took more than £3,200 of stock during a five-month shoplifting spree

Amanda Liddle, 40, and her partner Craig Hughes, 33, committed 16 thefts together and another 15 separately between them to feed crack cocaine habits.

The crooks, of Larkswood, Horsley Hill, South Shields, are estimated to have made off with at least £3,258 of stock, none of which was recovered.

They targeted eight different retailers, including Tesco, Morrisons, Heron Foods and the Co-op, between November and March, borough magistrates heard.

Mum-of-six Liddle and Hughes, a dad, pinched mainly chocolates but also pregnancy tests, sandwiches, pizza, Oxo cubes and wine.

The pair jointly struck at One Stop’s shop in Highfield Road, South Shields, seven times and nine times at two Co-op outlets in South Shields and Whitburn.

Their biggest joint haul was on Thursday, February 13, when they pinched £294 of chocolate and sweets from the Co-op’s Whitburn outlet.

The same store was hit by them on Saturday, March 22, when they made off with £190 of confectionery.

They also swiped £198 of chocolate from Sainsbury’s, in Binchester, Simonside, South Shields, on Tuesday, March 11

On Sunday, February 2, they pinched £193 of Grenade bars and other goods from One Stop, and two days later, they returned to steal £186 of chocolate.

Hughes’ biggest solo theft was £350 of Nurofen tablets, Lemsip and pregnancy tests from a South Shields branch of the Co-op on Sunday, November 17.

He also went by himself to take £240 of chocolate from the retailer’s Whitburn branch on Wednesday, February 12.

Liddle’s highest individual valued thefts were of £151 and £117, both from the Co-op, in Mortimer Road, South Shields, on Wednesday, February 19, and Sunday, February 23.

She pleaded guilty to 23 counts of shop theft, and Hughes to 24 counts of the same charge, with 16 committed jointly.

Prosecutor Paul Anderson said: “There are a vast number of offences. All are relatively low value.

“I think the total for Mr Hughes is £3,258 and for Ms Liddle, it’s £2,209, which needs to be broken down for purposes of compensation.

“The root cause, at least for Mr Hughes, is a drug dependency, and that’s why the offences have taken place.

“I don’t think there’s any occasion where the goods have been recovered.”

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Syed Ahmed, defending both defendants, urged magistrates not to jail them.

He insisted they should be given community-based sentences, with drug treatment requirements.

Mr Ahmed added: “The defendants are addicted to crack cocaine, they are addicted to that drug.

“To fund that drug, they had to go out and steal. They had been out of trouble for some before these thefts started.”

Magistrates jailed both defendants for six consecutive months for six of the thefts.

All other thefts were sentenced at six-months, to run concurrently to each other and to the six thefts.

They ordered Hughes to pay total compensation of £1,577 and Liddle £1,369.

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