Couple must pay back ill-gotten gain from their benefits after shoplifting spree in Hartlepool

A couple with a record of shoplifting have been ordered to pay back their ill-gotten gains after items were stolen from two Hartlepool stores.
The case was heard at Teesside Crown Court.The case was heard at Teesside Crown Court.
The case was heard at Teesside Crown Court.

David Jones and Dawn Torrance left Marks and Spencer without paying for the tins of biscuits priced at £40.

Jones also stole a knife block from T K Maxx, Teesside Magistrates' Court heard.

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None of the items were recovered, prosecutor Joanne Hesse told the court.

Dave Smith, defending Jones and Torrance, said: "Both of them have mental health issues.

"They are both on a stabilised dose of methadone, so in that sense drugs is not the problem."

Jones, 46, and Torrance, 45, of Church Street, Hartlepool, each admitted theft on September 6.

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District Judge Kristina Harrison sentenced Torrance to a curfew of two weeks, and ordered her to pay £60 in costs and compensation,

"Your record is not as bad as Jones's," the judge told Torrance. "But there must still be an element of punishment, which is the curfew."

Jones was sentenced to a community order of 12 months, and ordered to pay £90 in costs and compensation.

The money will be deducted from benefits.