A 52-YEAR-old woman caught stealing from an Accrington store admitted she had stolen from three other shops on the same day.

Blackburn magistrates heard police were already looking for Mary Theresa Breckell in connection with another shoplifting offence.

Breckell, 52, of Stanley Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty to five charges of shoplifting.

She was made subject to community supervision for six months, with a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement, fined £50 and ordered to pay £60 costs.

Gareth Price, defending, said Breckell tended to come before the courts when her heroin habit, which she had had since she was 38, was unchecked.

He said: “She would welcome any assistance that is offered.”