Chelsea Townsend, 25, who has 124 previous offences, 84 of which are theft related, walked out of branches of Co-Op and Tesco with items worth more than £1,500.

The string of thefts in February and March occurred less than a month after she had been released from prison after serving part of a sentence for previous shoplifting sprees.

It comes as Norfolk saw a record number of shoplifting offences last year.

Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told she had been sentenced to 20 weeks on December 12.

She was also made subject of a three year criminal........

© Norwich Evening News