A mother has told how she acted out of “love and desperation” when she begged a judge to jail her drug addict daughter.
Kimberley Probert, 30, appeared in court to be sentenced for a string of thefts from shops and pickpocket crimes which she did to fund her heroin habit.
Her mum Wendy, 54, who was watching from the public gallery, was asked to speak to the judge about the help her daughter needed to stop reoffending.
Mrs Probert told the judge her daughter was being assessed for a placement at a rehabilitation centre but said she should remain behind bars.
She told the judge: “I don’t want her out until they’ve done it (assessed her).
“It would benefit my daughter for her mental state and drug use.
“I’m not convinced she will receive sufficient support in the community to keep her on the straight and narrow.”
Mrs Probert added that she urged the judge to keep her in prison because she was “desperate” for her daughter to receive help to kick her addiction.
She said: “I did it for mother’s love and desperation.”
Probert appeared at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday (19/12) to be sentenced after she admitted a string of thefts and attempted thefts.
Judge Daniel Pearce-Higgins QC adjourned the sentencing until January for reports but agreed with Mrs Probert and remanded her daughter into custody.
He said: “What is going to break the cycle?
“She is in the grip of a heroin addiction.”
The court heard Probert stole meat and goods from Co-Op stores as well as a flat screen TV from Tesco in April and May.
In July she also stole £295 worth of goods from Homebase and the next month she pinched a camera worth £49.99 from another shop in Worcester.
Probert, of Worcester, also stole a wallet from a man who had helped her when she pretended she was being chased.
Prosecutor Lal Amarasinghe said: “A man saw her running in front of his house in a distressed state on August 27 at around 2.40pm.
“She told him she was being followed by a Romanian male. He invited her in to help her and ensure her safety.
“She sat down on the sofa and he left for ten seconds to get her a glass of water. She said she didn’t want to contact police.
“She got up and left and he discovered his wallet had been taken.
“It’s an unpleasant theft from a residential dwelling, having been invited in.”
The court heard she was caught for the theft of the camera when police saw her offering it for sale on her Facebook page.
Speaking after the court hearing, Mrs Probert, of Worcester, said: “Because of the nature of the crimes, especially the wallets, it’s not nice.
“She has been suffering and she needs some sort of help.
“She will accept it, whether it will work is to be seen.
“I would hope that if she gets the correct help we can stop this pattern of reoffending and drug use.
“She was actually clean for four-and-a-half years and she has got two children.”
