Shoplifter walked out of Co-op with meat

A WOMAN walked out of a Co-op with 13 stolen rump steaks, just days after being released by police after using a stolen credit card.

Victoria Jolleys, 42, had been in Ashby town centre on the night of March 7 when she committed the fraud. A woman in a town pub in Market Street noticed her purse had been stolen and called her bank to cancel her debit card.

The bank said the card had been used six minutes earlier at the Ashby Grill, just up the road.

Police looked through the Ashby Grill CCTV and an officer recognised convicted shoplifter Jolleys, who was buying £12 worth of food from the takeaway with the stolen card.

On May 4 she was arrested and interviewed.

Prosecutor Kwok Wan told Leicester Magistrates’ Court : “She confirmed she had gone out and got very intoxicated and could not recall how she came into possession of the bank card. She said she committed shop thefts but didn’t steal purses.”

With no evidence Jolleys had stolen the purse, police released Jolleys on bail.

On May 11 she went into a Co-op in Hugglescote, where a staff member saw her walk out with a bag with meat stolen from the shop.

After she left without paying he followed her out onto the street and demanded the £52 worth of meat back but she refused and walked away, so he called the police.

They found Jolleys, of Avenue Road, Ashby, about 15 minutes later, still holding the bag containing the meat, which she intended to sell.

Her lawyer, Steve Morris, asked for his client to be given credit for pleading guilty.

The court heard Jolleys, who is on benefits, already owes £730 in fines to the courts and was not suitable for unpaid work. The district judge gave her an eight-week community order, during which she will be electronically tagged and unable to leave her home between 7pm and 7am for that period. She was also ordered to pay a £90 victim surcharge.