PTSD sparked Bircotes shop theft

A Doncaster woman's mental health problems made her forget to pay for goods she took from a Bircotes supermarket, a court heard.

Sharon Linacre, 57, of Christchurch Road, admitted stealing candles worth £35 from the Asda on Scrobie Road, on October 31.

Carolyn Mackuin, mitigating, said: “She suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and literally forgets what she has done. She has no memory of picking up the candles.”

The court heard Linacre was now working with a women’s centre in Doncaster, had sought advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau for debts and had started counselling to address her mental health problems.

She was given her a conditional discharge of 12 months and ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge.