A SHOPLIFTER caught stealing a £5 top from a charity shop then swore at people who confronted her.

On August 21, Joanne Nulty entered the St Rocco’s Hospice store in Golden Square Shopping Centre, prosecutor Katie Johnson told Warrington Magistrates’ Court.

The 47-year-old was seen loitering near the women’s clothes section trying on a black top, before removing it, placing it in a bag she came in with and putting her coat back on.

Instead of paying for the £5 top however, she went to leave before being confronted by members of the public by the doorway, two women and one man.

Nulty was threatening towards them, getting in close proximity to one who was ‘intimidated by her physical presence’, especially as the defendant threatened to hit her.

The man tried to get between the pair, but Nulty adopted a ‘boxing stance with clenched fists’, telling the trio ‘f**k off’.

She was later arrested however and the £5 top was recovered, but she was charged with and admitted one count of theft from a shop and three of using threatening behaviour.

The court heard that Nulty has 29 previous convictions for 61 offences between 1998 and 2024, of which 16 are for theft and three are for public disorder.

Her most recent conviction was in April for arson, assault and two counts of disorder, for which she received a 16-week prison sentence.

Defending, Peter Green asked for full credit for her guilty pleas and detailed her history of drug misuse, with his client using heroin and crack cocaine since the age of 17.

“She is at a stage where she realises that she needs to stop using drugs before they retire her. She is trying to change, but it is not instant,” he said.

It was said that Nulty would lose her accommodation if she was sent to prison, but that she came to court with her bag packed.

This showed, the court heard, that she was ‘preparing for the worst but hoping for the best’, which is a ‘good indication that she is taking proceedings seriously’.

“If this court can stop one person this year from using drugs instead of sending them to prison, then the court has done its job,” he added.

“She could relapse, but she could be a success. Give her a chance.”

Magistrates agreed to give her a chance and sentenced Nulty, of Lovely Lane in Bewsey, to an 18-month community order, including 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days.