A mother-of-four has been sentenced by Haverfordwest magistrates for stealing items for her fish tank which she had concealed inside a pushchair.

CCTV footage showed Kirsty Kendrick entering Coast Aquatics, Haverfordwest, on March 1 and concealing numerous items inside the pushchair. The total value of the stolen items amounted to £79.61.

“She purchased one item but left with all the others without offering payment,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“When confronted by staff, she denied not paying and became very confrontational, telling the shop owner to **** off.”

But Kendrick’s solicitor, Tom Lloyd, stressed that her actions were the result of the current economic climate.

“Most people at the moment are feeling the impact of the economy,” he said. “My client has sole responsibility for four children, she was in a desperate position and needed the items for her family.”

When asked by the presiding magistrate what those items were, Mr Lloyd replied that they were all for her fish tank.

Kirsty Kendrick, 37, of Brynawelon, Stop and Call, Goodwick, pleaded guilty to a charge of theft from a shop.

She was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £48 surcharge. She was also ordered to pay £79.61 compensation to Coast Aquatics.