Woman jailed for shop thefts in South Devon

37-year-old Lucy Hanks stole 34 bottles of wine

A woman from Teignmouth has been jailed after being convicted of a string of offences in South Devon.

Lucy Hanks, 37, of Bitton Park Road in Teignmouth, was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court after pleading guilty to four thefts, breach of a suspended sentence order, breach of a court order and possession of methadone.

Ms. Hanks was sentenced to 16 months in custody.

The court heard how in March last year Hanks entered Tesco Express store in Teignmouth in breach of her bail conditions.

Once inside, she selected 17 months bottles of wine from the end of the alcohol aisle, concealed them in two bags and left the store without approaching the tills.

Ms. Hanks then returned to the store, wearing the same clothing, carrying the now empty bags and filled them up with a further 17 bottles of the wine before leaving again.

The thefts were caught on CCTV and involved wine estimated as being worth more than £300.

Around four weeks later, Hanks was further arrested and once again bailed with conditions not to enter the Tesco Express store.

Despite this, Hanks entered the store on 7 April and selected food items before again walking off without payment.

The drug offence took place on 30 October 2024 at Tesco Extra in Kingsteignton when officers attended a domestic incident, during which Hanks was searched and found in possession of methadone despite not having a prescription for it.