Falmouth woman stole clothes to buy birthday present for husband (From Falmouth Packet)

Falmouth woman stole clothes to buy birthday present for husband

12:00pm Friday 14th September 2012 in News

FINDING herself without money to buy her husband a birthday present, Harriet Dean decided to remove items from Asda’s clothing section and present them immediately for a refund.

However, security staff were watching, and she ended up before Truro magistrates last week.

Dean, 29, of Acacia Road, Falmouth, pleaded guilty to theft and fraud on May 8.

Alison May for the CPS said security staff at Asda in Penryn were suspicious of Dean and noted she had selected clothing and then taken it for refund, receiving a £50 credit note. Other items she had placed in her bag and not paid for were worth £43. She had previous convictions.

Terry Eastwood, her solicitor, said May 8 was her husband’s birthday when she went to Asda with him. On the spur of the moment she decided to steal and get a refund to get cash to buy him a present.

Dean, who attended court in a wheelchair, had a condition which left her in constant pain and unable to walk, something which was unlikely to improve. She was suffering from depression as a result.

Dean was fined £150 and £75 costs and surcharge.