A 38-year-old woman who stole a pair of jeans from Rackhams in Skipton while on bail for identical offences will be electronically tagged for eight weeks.

Magistrates heard Jennifer Downing was a former heroin addict and took the £27.50 black Criminal jeans while walking through the High Street store on October 23.

Downing, who had been caught on the store’s CCTV cameras, gave a frank admission to police and said she had put them in her bag after noticing they were without a tag.

Downing, of Pinhaw Road, Skipton, had been convicted of two shop thefts in October and had been on bail when she had stolen again, the court was told.

In mitigation, Alan Petherbridge said Downing was a single woman on benefits who was currently on a methadone programme.

Magistrates sentenced Downing to an eight-week community order with a daily curfew between 9pm and 7am. She was also ordered to pay costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £60.

A second woman, Sandra Diane Floyd, formerly of Jenny Gill Crescent, Skipton, and now of Cardigan Road, Leeds, who was with Downing at the time, but not jointly charged, admitted stealing £8.99 Maybelline Super Stay foundation from Boots in Skipton and £2.49 filled mushrooms from Marks & Spencer.

The court heard she had taken the foundation cream because of a skin complaint and the mushrooms because she had been hungry.

Magistrates gave her a six- month conditional discharge and ordered her to pay costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £15.