Woman banned from South Shields Co-op after stealing from it twice in three days

Kayley Holmes, 35, must not enter the Co-op’s outlet in Mortimer Road, South Shields, on the orders of a court for a year.

Holmes, of Revesby Street, near Tyne Dock, targeted the store on Monday, September 16, and Wednesday, September 18.

Borough magistrates heard she made off first with £24 worth of pork and steak and stole the same value of packs of pork loins in her next raid.

She also swiped two boxes of Surf detergent – priced in total at £12 – from Price Wise Bargains at the Nook, also South Shields, on Thursday, August 29.

Prosecutor Bushra Begum said: “For the first theft from Price Wise, she was captured on CCTV picking up the detergent, placing them in a bag and leaving the store.

“For the other offences, she entered the shop and picked up pork and steaks and left without offering payment. She was interviewed by police and made admissions.

“She has six previous convictions from 14 offences, and there are three shop thefts in 2019 for which she was given a 12-month conditional discharge.

“These new offences are aggravated by her record of previous convictions to some extent, but the last conviction was in 2019.

“There has been a period of no convictions since then. I do ask for compensation for the shops.”

Holmes pleaded guilty to three counts of theft from a shop and one of failing to surrender to custody, on Thursday, January 23.

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Alastair Naismith, defending, said a pre-sentence report, written by the Probation Service, set out matters that needed to be addressed by Holmes for her rehabilitation.

Mr Naismith told magistrates: “I think there’s two things you need to consider.

“One is, do these offences cross the custody bracket, and if they do, are you going to follow the recommendations of the Probation Service.”

Magistrates sentenced Holmes to a 12-month community order, with 10 days of rehabilitation.

They ordered her to pay full compensation to the retailers, along with £85 court costs, and told her to stay away from the Co-op branch for 12 months.

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