A MOTHER-OF-TWO told Hull magistrates how she embarked on a shoplifting spree to obtain Christmas presents, so she could spend her benefits on drugs.
Michaila Warriner, 47, was caught taking hair straighteners, worth £29.99, from TX Maxx in St Stephen's Shopping Centre on December 20 after spending the day stealing from shops across the city.
Other stolen items included:
• Two bottles of aftershave, worth £59.50, from Superdry, also within St Stephen's.
• A Lynx gift set, worth £3.99, from Bodycare, in Prospect Shopping Centre.
• Four fragrances, one Lacoste jumper and a Yankee candle, worth £276.49, from House of Fraser.
• A ladies jumper and a nightie, worth £21.50, from BHS in Jameson Street.
• Two pairs of socks, worth £25, from Blacks in Jameson Street.
Martin Howarth, prosecuting at Hull Magistrates' Court, said Warriner gave frank admissions to police.
"She said she stole in order to give presents to relations," he said. "She intended to use her dole money for drugs."
Mr Howarth described how Warriner's one-day crime spree came to a sudden end.
"She came to the attention of a store detective at TK Maxx at 5.40pm on December 20," he said.
"She saw the defendant ripping a security tag off a pair of hair straighteners.
"CCTV showed her putting them into a bag, before leaving the store without making payment."
Police were called and she was searched.
Mr Howarth said: "She detailed which items came from each store.
"She said she was sorry. She said she had got away with it at other shops and should have stopped."
All the items were recovered and were able to be sold again, the court was told.
Warriner, of Setting Crescent, west Hull, pleaded guilty to six counts of shop theft.
Max Gold, mitigating, said his client had kept out of trouble for a significant period of time.
He said: "In the early 2000s she was a regular attendee at this court. I thought I had seen the back of her."
Warriner was granted bail and ordered to attend Hull Magistrates' Court again on January 15 when she will be sentenced.
A condition of her bail is that she does not visit a retail store, except a chemist to obtain her prescriptions.
• Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
• Crime news for Hull and East Yorkshire
