A CRACK cocaine addict was caught stealing alcohol and chocolates from supermarkets in Herefordshire after relapsing.

Victoria Jane Grimmett entered a guilty plea when she appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

The 29-year-old had visited Ledbury's Tesco supermarket and Ross-on-Wye's Aldi carrying pliers and a screwdriver with the intention of stealing goods on February 11, prosecutor Mark Hambling said.

The court heard Grimmett had tried to take Jack Daniels whiskey, Smirnoff vodka, and Amaretto liqueur worth £363 from Tesco, removing the tags and concealing the bottles in her bag.

But as Grimmett removed the tags from the bottles one activated and she fled the store, driving with a friend to Aldi in Ross, where she placed chocolates and medications in her bag and walked out without attempting to pay.

The pair were caught after driving off, and Grimmett, who has previous convictions for similar offences, was taken into custody in Hereford, where she fully admitted taking the items.

ALSO READ:

Kim Edge, for Grimmett, said she could not disagree that the offences were serious due to Grimmett's record of offending.

"She is in a catch-22 situation," Ms Edge said,

"She has a crack cocaine habit and all her previous offences are related to that. Most of the time she will tell you she is under duress to steal. There is a very well-known family in Gloucestershire who will persuade her to steal as they will give her drugs, but she then ends up owing them money, although this was not the case with this offence."

The court heard Grimmett had "not had a straightforward life" and had lost her father shortly before being sent to prison in 2018.

"When she came out she was over the moon, and she was given a flat and was managing to stay off drugs," Ms Edge said.

But, the court heard, the flat below Grimmett's was home to a drug dealer and she soon started taking drugs again.

"She is so desperate to get away from this that she and her partner are now sleeping on the floor at a family member's home," Ms Edge said.

Grimmett, of Vallenders Road, Tewkesbury, was handed a 12-month community order and fined £75. She must complete a six-month drug treatment programme and pay a £95 victim surcharge.