A thief who stole ice creams from a Co-op and was caught by police after they saw damning social media footage with them told a court she was appalled by her behaviour.
Staff from the Brampton store contacted police after reviewing CCTV footage.
This showed 33-year-old Samantha Kirkpatrick taking £40-worth of single ice creams and loading them into her bag before leaving the premises without paying for them.
Carlisle magistrates’ court heard police then became aware of a video circulating on social media showing multiple items which Kirkpatrick claimed to have pinched from the Co-op.
Officers visited her and found wrappers of the ice cream which had been stolen, on the evening of September 17.
Eleven days earlier, Kirkpatrick had sworn at a man outside Carlisle’s city centre Tesco store and spat towards him.
In court today, Kirkpatrick admitted theft and assault by beating.
Asked by Carlisle magistrates whether she wished to make any comment about her offending, Kirkpatrick said: “I’m absolutely appalled by my actions. I thought I had left crime behind me.”
She described suffering a breakdown which had interrupted what she believed to be positive progress.
Magistrates adjourned her case after hearing from a probation officer that a mental health treatment requirement was being considered and more time was needed to carry out an assessment.
Kirkpatrick, of Blencowe Street, Carlisle, is due to be sentenced for the two offences on November 6 and in the meantime she was granted unconditional bail.
