A PERSISTENT thief escaped jail despite stealing hundreds of pounds worth of products from various Worcestershire stores.

Keighley Harris was given a final lifeline at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday, October 23, and was handed a suspended sentence for four charges of theft, totalling £840.38, despite breaching multiple community orders given for similar offences.

Clare Linehan, prosecuting, said the 22-year-old was identified from CCTV for the first offence in Boots, Malvern, on February 22, after staff saw her and her boyfriend empty a shelf of fragrances into a bag, and for the second in Boots, Kidderminster, on September 1, she was followed by a security guard after allowing an electronic hair removal device to be put in her bag by her boyfriend before trying to run away.

After the theft of a television from Kidderminster's Sainsbury's on September 29, the defendant said she saw the opportunity and decided to steal it, as she did with the theft of alcohol from the same store on October 2, which she added was for personal consumption.

Out of all the items, £66 of champagne and the hair removal device was recovered, although the second item was not in a saleable condition.

The four offences added to 16 previous convictions of theft from 2007 to 2014.

In mitigation, Sam Lamsdale said the offences were committed because of a drug addiction which Harris, of Lion Street, Kidderminster, was attempting to get under control while her partner was in jail.

"She told herself that, 'I cannot go on like this, I cannot cope' and she want through a home detox process.

"She has not taken mephedrone for the last few months and has not taken heroin since her home detox."

She added Harris was terrified of going to prison and was trying to get her life together despite missing probation appointments which were part of current community orders for other thefts dating back to November.

"It's somebody like Miss Harris that is she went in custody, she would learn more from other people in there and come out more entrenched," Ms Lamsdale said.

Harris pleaded guilty to the two latest thefts at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday, October 23. She had previously pleaded guilty to the other thefts at other hearings.

District Judge Nigel Cadbury revoked the community orders and sentenced her to 24 weeks in custody suspended for 12 months.

He said: "You really need something hanging over your head to make sure that you are determined to work with the probation service. Your future is indeed in your ow hands now."

He also imposed a supervision requirement and a drug rehabilitation requirement, both for 12 months, and ordered she pay a £60 victim surcharge and £400 of compensation to Sainsbury's.