A callous thief who targeted elderly women in supermarkets has been jailed.

Geraldine Breen stole a handbag at the Aldi store in Accrington containing £500 worth of items on April 7 this year.

It included car and house keys, leather gloves, £20 in coins, a purse, £60 in notes, a driving licence, credit cards, bus pass and a Samsung mobile.

Breen also stole another handbag on April 6 at Asda in Rawtenstall containing a driving licence, £60 in notes, £10 in coins, house keys, car keys, heart spray and asthma spray.

A bench warrant was issued for her arrest after she failed to attend court for sentence in September. Breen, 51, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, breaching a suspended sentence order and a bail offence and was jailed for 70 weeks.

Barbara Webster, prosecuting, told a previous court hearing: “The handbags were placed by the complainants in trollies.

“The defendant distracted each of the complainants who are elderly individuals and stole the handbags.”

The court heard how Breen, of Great George Street, Rochdale, had also failed to attend two appointments with the probation service.