Wigan woman caught stealing to fund heroin and cocaine addiction

Nicola Stockley, of Vulcan Road, Marsh Green, admitted breaching a 12-month community order for previous offences when she shoplifted products from Boots at Robin Retail Park. She also pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, one on January 13 and another the following day.

Wigan justices heard that Stockley, who was already banned from the store, made off with three Calvin Klein collections and eight Gillette gift sets together worth £367.

The 44-year-old was given the community order by Wigan magistrates last July for stealing lingerie on three separate occasions from a TK Maxx store, one hit costing the store £186.

The order required Stockley to attend 20 rehabilitation sessions but she failed to turn up for any appointments and gave no explanations for this to the court.

Prosecuting, Tess Kenyon read out an impact statement from the Boots manager which read: “I don’t see why an individual should get away with stealing valuable goods from this store alone, the financial impact of which could puts us in a tough place when considering things such as staffing costs.”

The court heard Stockley was challenged by staff on the day of the first theft. They managed to retrieve items from her bag and told her to leave, which she did but returned later and stole them again

Defending, Mark Ferguson, said: “This is a 44-year-old woman who is quite frankly getting too old for this sort of behaviour, and does not want to see a prison cell. My client has suffered from domestic violence in the past, with her partner hitting her in the head with a metal bar, and has most recently turned to theft to fund a drug habit.”

A probation spokesperson told the court that in their report, Stockley claimed to have problems with her mental health and admitted to having an issue with drug addiction, but that “she does not take into account the help that is there”.

Magistrates gave Stockley two six-week prison terms which were suspended for 12 months and will be served consecutively. A 15-day drug rehabilitation requirement was also handed down.