Mums who stole £5,000 worth of sunglasses from Trafford Centre spared jail because of their children

Two mothers who stole more than £5,000 worth of sunglasses from the Trafford Centre have been spared jail after a judge said she was taking their children into account.

Lindsey Jordan, 40, and Paula Richardson, 35, both pleaded guilty to three counts of theft after returning to John Lewis on three days between April and May this year and stealing thousands of pounds worth of sunglasses. They were each handed a suspended sentence for six months at Minshull Street Crown Court this morning by Judge Baxter, who told them she was granting them 'a chance' because of 'real difficulties' in relation to their children.

Prosecuting, Mr Mark Pritchard told the court how Jordan and Richardson had 'worked together', with Jordan acting as a lookout and distracting staff while Richardson took the sunglasses from the John Lewis store at the Trafford Centre. The pair first offended on April 19 of this year, where they stole eight pairs of sunglasses ranging between £200 and £481, and valued at a total of £3,164.

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They returned to the same store just three days later on April 22, carrying out what Mr Pritchard called 'exactly the same operation' where they stole a further six pairs of sunglasses valued between £298 and £508, with a total value of £2,168. They then attempted to visit the store on a third occasion, where they were grabbed by store security. The £5,332 worth of stolen goods have not been recovered.

The court also heard how Jordan had 26 previous convictions ranging from 2001 and 2011, including shoplifting offences which she served in custody in 2011. Ms Richardson has two previous convictions, including one for shoplifting in 2017.

Mitigating, Mr Carville