A 31-year-old woman who spent all her spare cash to feed a drug dependency has appeared before magistrates charged with stealing over £40 of food from a Pembroke service station.

Sian Batchelor was seen entering the Green Service Station in Pembroke on February 24 and selecting a number of items from the shelves.

“She paid for some of the items however she had placed other items in her bag and left without paying for them,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

The items comprised two jars of O.E Paso sour cream, three Red Bull drinks, a family pack of profiteroles, British minced beef, Pataks Bhuna sauce, Pataks Tikka Masala sauce, Dairylea spread, Honest Value cheese, Co-Op mature cheese, two packets of unsmoked bacon and a Delmere chocolate milkshake.

The value of the stolen items amounted to £42.21.

Ms Vaughan informed magistrates that Batchelor, of Silverdale Inn, Johnston, has a previous conviction for shoplifting that was imposed by magistrates in 2020.

The defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of theft and was legally represented in court by Mr Michael Kelleher.

“This was a very difficult time for my client,” he said.

“Her ex-partner had been jailed and that had a knock-on effect when she was ejected from her accommodation because of his behaviour.

“She was depressed, she was very down and took to using illegal substances which used up most of her money. And here she is, charged with shoplifting for food.

“She was homeless, and she had no money.”

Mr Kelleher added that Batchelor is currently the subject of a SOBB (steal or be banned) order, which was imposed by a local shop in Johnston.

“You can imagine how difficult it makes life, not to be able to go into the supermarket which is just across the road,” he said.

After considering her mitigation, magistrates granted Batchelor a conditional discharge for 12 months.

She was ordered to pay £44.21 compensation to Green Service Station, £85 costs and a £26 court surcharge.