Serial Sunderland thief Keighley Marrs jailed after stealing 60 Cadbury Dairy Milk bars

Keighley Marrs, 36, has been imprisoned for 23 weeks for pinching a Dairy Milk batch from an Aldi store..

Marrs, of Oxford Street, Pallion, Sunderland, and an accomplice took the £1 slabs from the firm’s outlet in St Mark’s Road, Millfield.

They fled with the goods after a struggle with security staff on Thursday, May 7, a court heard.

But they were picked up on CCTV and police were easily able to identify Marrs from past criminality.

South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard she had a record of 39 offences, including 16 for theft and 14 for fraud, from 18 previous convictions.

Marrs was also serving a 15-week jail term, which had been suspended for a year, imposed only two months earlier for another offence.

She has now been jailed for 23 weeks - and even her own solicitor conceded there was no other option.

Prosecutor Clare Irving said: “They took 60 Dairy Milk chocolate bars. They put them into a bag and left the store.

“There was an incident with a security guard. They were challenged. They failed to return the items and made good their escape. CCTV showed them.

“She was on a suspended sentence order at the time of the offence.”

Tom Morgan, defending Marrs, who admitted theft, told District Judge Natalie Wortley: “I accept that there’s been a struggle and it’s a group activity.

“I’m not trying to persuade you to view that this is not a custodial sentence.

“I have to concede that there are aggravating features. The defendant is realistic.

“She is an individual with a difficult past, but I don’t think that any of that would make any difference to the sentence that she will receive.

“I ask that you keep any sentence to a minimum.”

Judge Wortley told Marrs: “This offence is made more serious, firstly, because of your behaviour towards shop staff, and, secondly, because of your previous convictions.”

She activated the suspended sentence, gave Marrs an additional eight-week jail term for the latest theft and ordered her to pay Aldi £30 compensation.

The court heard a second person arrested in connection with the case had yet to appear in court.

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