A PERSISTENT shoplifter has been jailed after she defied an ASBO-style order which banned her from a town’s main shops.

Jasmine Thomas was caught stealing alcohol and other items from stores in the centre of Tiverton 15 times in the space of two months, costing the owners £2,000 in lost stock.

She carried on her theft spree after being made subject to a Criminal Behaviour Order which banned her from a list of major shops, most of which had already tried to exclude her.

Security staff who tried to stop her were threatened with violence. She told a store detective at Morrison’s she would punch him in the face if he stopped her and warned another guard that she would smash a bottle over his head.

Thomas, aged 32, of Sycamore Road, Tiverton, admitted 15 counts of theft and eight of breaking a Criminal Behaviour Order, which is the modern version of an Asbo. She was jailed for seven months by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.

He told her the normal sentencing guideline of 12 weeks imprisonment did not apply in her case because her offending was so persistent and much of was in breach of the CBO.

Mr Peter Coombe, prosecuting, said the thefts took place from shops including Morrison’s, Marks and Spencer, Tesco, WH Smith and B and M Bargains between March 8 and May 21 this year.

She was made subject of the CBO part way through the offending but continued to shoplift and threaten store staff when they tried to stop her. He said her 44 previous convictions were “a litany of shoplifting”.

Mr Stephen Nunn, defending, said Thomas had substance abuse problems as a result of a difficult childhood and a series of abusive relationships in adulthood. She had gone off the rails after learning her mother had been diagnosed with cancer.

She has dried out while in custody and hopes to remain crime free on her release.