Gosforth thief who spent seven years staying out of trouble steals £1,200 coat

A picture of Ailsa Boothroyd leaving Newcastle Magistrates' Court.
-Credit:Newcastle Chronicle


A Newcastle thief who has spent seven years staying out of trouble was back up to her old tricks when she stole a £1,200 coat.

Ailsa Boothroyd, who has 16 offences for shoplifting on her record but had stayed out of the courts since 2017, brazenly walked into Fenwick in Newcastle, put on the designer jacket and tried to leave. However, the 57-year-old was spotted by security and detained at the exit, prosecutors said.

Boothroyd, of Kenton Crescent, in Gosforth, has now been fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £48 victim surcharge after she pleaded guilty to shop theft at Newcastle Magistrates' Court. Sentencing her, District Judge Kate Meek said: "Don't let this be the start of you getting back into bother."

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Prosecutor Gurjot Kaur said Boothroyd went into Fenwick on November 23 last year. She added: "The defendant put a coat on and tried to walk out. She's stopped by security and detained until police arrive. She's then interviewed in the back of a police car and admitted the offence."

The court heard that the coat was worth £1,290 but was recovered at the scene. Peter Doherty, defending, said: "She was asked to take that coat for someone else.

"It falls just short of duress because she could have spoken to the security staff in Fenwick. She didn't and was stopped on her way out."

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