A teenager who stole perfume from a chemist’s shop simply put the bottle in her handbag and walked out without paying, a court has heard.
Rachael Braidwood, for the prosecution, told the court the 17-year-old was found out after staff spotted her on CCTV footage taken inside the shop.
She said Bateson, who was shown wearing a black hooded top, made no attempt to pay for the perfume, priced at £15.99.
The defendant was identified and later arrested by police who had viewed the footage. They seized a handbag matching the one seen on the CCTV recording.
She told police she remembered being in the shop but did not take anything. However, she said she sometimes suffered blackouts.
She said it was her purse that she had been putting into her handbag. Initially, she denied theft but admitted it when she appeared in court.
The court also noted she had £56 arrears and £241 still outstanding from a previous fine.
Her advocate David Clegg said said the defendant was not claiming benefits and was making great efforts to support herself but was working only three days a week.
Consequently she was living hand to mouth.
’Her work is irregular, on an ad hoc basis, and this is not wilful non-payment,’ the advocate said.
He added the value of the theft was at the low end of the spectrum.
’She is working all the hours that are available and her long-term aim is to get a flat and a full-time job. She has not had an easy start and she is trying to put herself back on track.
’She knows she has to pack this type of behaviour in as it’s not helping her.’
It was not pre-meditated, he added, just stupid.
She was fined £50 and pays a further £50 costs. Magistrates’ chairman Julian Ashcroft reminded her of the importance of complying with the court order.