TWO Bulgarian women have been jailed after snatching purses in Uttoxeter.
Margarita Petrova and Iskra Ivanova, of Upper Clapton Road, London, have pleaded guilty to stealing a purse and its contents, including £100 cash, totalling a value of £150 belonging to Irene Lynch on October 19.
The pair also admitted stealing a purse and its contents, including £35 cash, totaling a value of £150 belonging to Faye Burney on the same date.
Burton Magistrates’ Court heard that at 11.45am the defendants were in a Co-op supermarket, in The Maltings, where Ms Lynch had her purse inside her handbag in her shopping trolley.
She left her trolley and when she returned, her purse and handbag had gone.
Dave Bell, prosecuting, told the court that CCTV showed Petrova, 25, and Ivanova, 20, notice the handbag, shield the trolley from the security cameras with long shawls they were wearing and when they left the bag was gone.
A few minutes later Ms Burney was in a shoe shop, in High Street, trying on shoes with handbag next to her when she noticed that her purse was missing so called the police.
An off duty sergeant saw the defendants dump a purse in a bin which was later identified as the one stolen from Ms Burney.
The defendants both made full admissions in a police interview and said they were short of money so took the purses.
Mr Bell told magistrates that Petrova had several previous convictions and Ivanova had any been in the country a few weeks so did not have any.
Paul Hyatt, defending, said his clients gave no threat of force or face to face confrontation during the thefts.
He told the court that Petrova said she was short of money and Ivanova was short of money and desperate for food.
He said: “They both apologise for their actions.” Magistrates ruled that due to the degree of planning and the significant inconvenience caused to the injured parties, a custodial sentence was the only option.
Ivanova was sentenced to eight weeks in jail, which will be served in a young offenders unit.
Petrova was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail due to her previous convictions.
