A PROLIFIC thief previously banned from all shops in Barrow town centre was back in court after she stole again.

Nicola Duke has dozens of previous convictions and was previously banned from entering shops in Barrow's town centre and retail parks.

She has now been brought back to court after she stole more than £200 worth of items from a shop.

South Cumbria Magistrates' Court heard Duke, 44, stole clothing worth £97.95 from TK Maxx on April 15.

Later in the year on September 16 she returned to the store in Hollywood Retail Park and stole baby clothing worth £135.91, according to court papers.

The store was able to recover the items and did not face any loss or damage.

Appearing before magistrates, Duke also admitted failing to surrender to bail. It came after she failed to attend court as scheduled earlier this month.

The defendant, of Near Field Walk, was sentenced to a community order over the offences.

It means she will have to spend four weeks at home under curfew between 7pm and 7am and wear a tag.

The court also ordered Duke to pay £97.95 in compensation to TK Maxx for the clothes she stole but did not impose any extra costs or charges due to her 'inability' to pay.

She was previously jailed after she stole hundreds of pounds of items from two shops in Barrow.

South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court was told at the time how Duke, who then had 43 previous convictions for shop theft, stole more than £150 of clothes from Marks and Spencers before trying to take more than £200 worth of items from B&M Bargains along with two men.

The trio were said to have tried to leave the the bargain store with items without paying, but were caught by security alarms, with two of the thieves being stopped by an off-duty police officer.

She pleaded guilty to the charges and was jailed for 21 days.

Following persistent shoplifting, Duke was previously made the subject of a criminal behaviour order banning her from shops in Barrow for three years.