CCTV shows 'menace' shoplifter who targeted Co-op shops in Peterborough

• CCTV images capture Michelle Blades in action

Police have released CCTV footage of a "menace" shoplifter after she was jailed for 12 weeks.

The pictures show Michelle Blades stuffing bundles of chocolate into a bag before walking out without paying from a Co-op shop in Peterborough.

Police said they arrested the 41-year-old from Dogsthorpe in Peterborough at the Ortongate Shopping Centre on Tuesday by neighbourhood policing officers on patrol in the area.

The officers were approached by a member of the public who said Blades had just stolen from Poundland.

When she was stopped she dropped a carrier bag containing 23 cans of deodorant she had just taken from the store.

Blades, who police revealed had 83 theft offences against her name, appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court where she was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison and ordered to pay £229 in compensation to Co-op after admitting four counts of theft.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokesman said: “Blades is a prolific shoplifter who has been targeting Co-op stores in the past.

"She has an active Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) which prohibits her from entering certain stores where she has been offending.

"Having this order in place gives us greater powers to stop Blades’ offending and put her before the courts if she breaches it.”

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