Drug user stole from Marks and Spencer in Barnstaple to pay for heroin

A DRUG user stole a bottle of vodka from Marks and Spencer in Barnstaple to pay for heroin.

Kelly Patricia Sorensen, 32, of 16 Pulchrass Street, Barnstaple, pleaded guilty to two charges of theft when she appeared before North Devon Magistrates' Court.

The court heard that she stole a bottle of Paul Smith aftershave from Banburys in Barnstaple on July 12 and then took the vodka from Marks and Spencer on August 13.

Ben Winzer, for the prosecution, said Sorensen was seen to take a tester bottle of aftershave from Banburys and walk down the street.

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He said it was clear on CCTV that she was guilty of the offence.

Tim Hook, for the defence, said the tester was essentially a free sample and it was not an offence to squirt the whole bottle.

"She liked the smell and took more of it than they were offering her," he said. He said she took the vodka to buy heroin as she had a heroin problem.

Magistrates gave Sorensen a six-month conditional discharge and ordered her to pay £29.99 compensation.