A Nottingham drug addict who uses heroin every day has been spared prison in the hope she can get help to combat her substance misuse. Heavily-convicted Hayley Page was found by police in Huntingdon Street two days ago after being identified as the person stealing from WH Smith in the Victoria Centre.
While the items she took from the store were not recovered, a search found her to be carrying both heroin and crack cocaine. Now she has been warned that if she is unable to keep out of trouble she will need to be locked up “to keep her off the streets”.
Handing her a 12-week jail term, suspended for a year at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Sunil Khanna said: “I have got two options really. To either send you to prison for as long as I can in the hope that when you come out you will be drug free or to give you the opportunity to get help for your drug use.
Short prison sentences are not working and it would be a short prison sentence so I am going to have to take a chance. Going forwards, if you commit further offences again, it will have to be a long prison sentence to keep you off the streets.”
Sanjay Jerath, prosecuting, said Page entered WH Smith in the Victoria Centre, on Sunday, December 29, and left having stolen £120 of items. He said she was picked up by the police in nearby Huntingdown Street and was searched and was found to be carrying both heroin and crack cocaine.
The defendant, of Argyle Court, Radford, pleaded guilty to theft, possession of class A drugs and has 53 convictions for 116 offences, Mr Jerath said. Her solicitor told the hearing: “All of these offences are connected to her drug issues, her whole criminal record is connected to her drug use.
“She has recently been evicted from her address from an abusive relationship and is now residing with a friend at a new address. I would urge you to hand her a suspended sentence and give her a chance but if it must be immediate custody I ask you to keep it as short as possible.”
After being assessed by the probation service, the officer in court said: “She says she is a daily user of heroin and used crack cocaine every other day.”
As part of the suspended sentence order, the judge ordered the defendant to attend 10 rehabilitation sessions with the probation service and a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement. He also ordered her to pay £120 compensation to WH Smith.