A WOMAN has been jailed for several months after breaching a court order and committing a raft of thefts.

Anna Cooper, aged 30, received a community order at West Hampshire Magistrates' Court on August 27 for four theft offences.

However, Cooper, of Hillside Road, Pennington, was back before the courts on December 17 having committed further shoplifting crimes.

The defendant pleaded guilty to 17 counts of theft and one attempted theft of stores in Lymington and Totton, as well as breaching the community order.

The court heard the total value of goods in these offences was £1,533.37.

Cooper was handed immediate prison terms for the crimes, with an overall sentence of 24 weeks.

Court papers said magistrates deemed the offending to be serious because the defendant "is a prolific thief who steals without giving thought for the law or other people's property".

They added: "She has been given numerous opportunities to serve a sentence in the community and failed to respond.

"Those who steal in this way must expect an immediate custodial sentence as a punishment and to deter others."