Cider fuelled thief from Creswell gets help to beat the booze

A shoplifter who had a nine-litres of cider a day drinking habit is to get help to beat the booze.
Pictured is Chesterfield magistrates' court.Pictured is Chesterfield magistrates' court.
Pictured is Chesterfield magistrates' court.

Chesterfield magistrates’ court heard last Tuesday how Kathy Irons, 34, of Welbeck Street, Creswell, had been tracked down by her car registration after stealing chicken from a Spar shop in Clowne.

Prosecuting solicitor Rod Chapman said: “She placed chicken in her pocket and made her way around the store selecting items which she paid for. She didn’t pay for the chicken and was followed and she said she knew nothing about what the shop worker was saying to her. She got in her car and left but was traced through her registration and CCTV showed her putting the chicken in her pocket.”

Irons told police she had not intended to steal but ended up taking the chicken thinking no one would notice. She pleaded guilty to the theft which happened on September 24, last year.

Defence solicitor Steve Brint said Irons was struggling with alcohol problems which had amounted to nine-litres of cider a day. But Mr Brint added she has reduced her intake to one three-litre bottle of cider a day instead of three bottles a day. Magistrates fined Irons £40 during a subsequent hearing on Monday and she must pay £7.52 compensation, a £60 victim surcharge and £85 costs. She was given a 12 month community order with alcohol treatment and rehabilitation.