A woman who stole frozen chips, sausages and a loaf of bread after being refused food at a Whitehaven house has been left with a court bill of almost £300.
Chelsea Berry, 26, had been drinking with an associate on Friday last week when things were said to have got heated.
Berry followed her associate to a neighbour’s town home, entering through a back door and then demanding food. But when the neighbour refused, Berry began smashing kitchen crockery and rifling through drawers and cupboards.
She left the house and it was discovered by the occupier she had stolen £6-worth of food. “Two bags of frozen chips, a packet of sausages and a loaf of bread had been taken,” prosecutor George Shelley told Carlisle Magistrates’ Court today.
Berry, previously of Salterbeck and currently of no fixed address, was the subject of a search by police who arrested her on Sunday.
When located, she was in possession of a small amount of cannabis bush. In court she admitted theft, criminal damage and illegally possessing the class B drug.
Berry’s lawyer said she had shown previously she was capable of staying out of trouble for periods of time. She had recently been using drink as a crutch after losing her father but was looking to improve her situation by seeking help. She had been in drink at the time she committed her offences.
Magistrates fined Berry £140. She must also pay £85 costs and a £56 mandatory surcharge along with £16 compensation to the victim of her theft and damage to plates.
