A WOMAN who stole £120 of alcohol from Cross Hills Co-op needed money to live, heard Skipton Magistrates.

Sara Dwyer, 34, visited the petrol station shop in Skipton Road on two separate occasions on February 4 and on February 26, the court heard today (Friday).

Each time she took three bottles of spirits, put them into a bag and left without paying, the court was told.

She later told police she had taken the alcohol to 'help with the cost of living'.

Dwyer, who the court heard has 94 previous offences and was recently released from prison following the activation of a suspended sentence, admitted two charges of theft.

The court heard in mitigation she had started taking heroin while a teenager and had struggled with addiction all her life. She had stopped taking drugs while in prison, and had since taken steps to address her addiction.

Magistrates fined Dwyer, of Whitehall Street, Nelson, £120 and ordered her to pay costs of £83 and a surcharge of £30. She will also have to pay compensation of £120 to the Co-op, as the alcohol was not recovered.