A 39-year-old Douglas woman has been put on probation after stealing cat food and Maltesers Bunny bars.

Alison Beckley, of Derby Road, was also caught with £28-worth of cannabis.

She pleaded guilty to the possession and theft charges and was sentenced to a 12-month probation order by magistrates.

Prosecutor James Robinson told the court that, on April 17, Beckley was seen on CCTV footage putting five packets of cat food into her handbag at Mace Stores in Bathurst Street, Douglas.

She went to the counter and paid for some items but then put three Maltesers Bunny bars behind her purse, then into her handbag before leaving.

The total value of the cat food and chocolate was £15.50.

Police arrested her at her home and a search of the address found 1.4 grams of cannabis.

Beckley was interviewed and shown the CCTV footage but said she could not remember the incident as she had probably had a drink.

She said she had no explanation for why she had taken the items and did not know what she had done with them.

A probation report said that Beckley had said she had little recollection of the theft due to her drinking. The report said that she had long-standing issues with alcohol misuse.

The court heard that she was already on a two-year probation order, imposed in October 2018 and this was the second breach of that.

Defence advocate Jane Gray said: ’The theft was low value. We would ask the court to consider Ms Beckley’s early guilty pleas and that her mental health makes her a vulnerable individual. The cannabis was a very small amount for personal use.’

The court heard that Beckley is currently claiming benefits.

Magistrates also ordered that she pay £15.50 in compensation to Mace Stores.