A HOMELESS drug addict who distracted two pensioners while they were out shopping and stole their handbags has been jailed.

Burnley Crown Court heard heard prolific thief Geraldine Breen, 51, had targeted the women, who are both in their 70s, as they shopped at Asda in Rawtenstall and Aldi in Accrington, respectively.

Prosecutor Sarah Magill said that after emptying the handbags of cash and bank cards, Breen threw them in the bin. And that meant the victims had lost sentimental photographs of relatives, as well as heart and Asthma medication.

The court heard that the first victim Renee Lord, 77, had put her black handbag in an Asda bag for life and hooked it to the back of a trolley and went to do some shopping. After paying and putting her items into the boot of her car she went back to the store to do some more shopping. It was as that point that she noticed her handbag had gone missing.

She went to the customer service desk and they called security who examined CCTV and established the handbag had been stolen.

In the handbag was a driving licence, purse, £60 in notes, £10 in coins, the victim’s house and car keys, her heart spray and her asthma spray.

Ms Magill said such was the victim’s worry that she git the locks changed on her house the same day.

The court heard that theft happened on April 6 and at around 1pm the following day Breen, now of no fixed address but previously of Great George Street, Rochdale, targeted 75-year-old Brenda Riley as she shopped in Accrington.

Ms Magill said as the victim, who is retired and spends a lot of time caring for her disabled friends, was shopping she was approached by a woman who ‘talking gibberish’.

She continued shopping but noticed her handbag had been unhooked from her trolley.

That bag contained Ms Riley’s house and car keys, leather gloves, £20 in coins, a purse, £60 in notes, a driving license, credit/debit cards, a bus pass, and her black Samsung mobile phone. The total value of that theft was around £500.

Later that day Ms Riley was contacted by her bank’s fraud department to say that an attempt had been made to purchase £200 on her debit card but that it had been foiled.

Police later circulated Breen’s photo on social media and in the Lancashire Telegraph and she was quickly identified and invited for a voluntary interview. But she failed to attend that.

Police went to her former address and saw her outside. She attempted to run but she was arrested by police after a short pursuit.

Ms Magill said: “She apologised for not making herself available for interview. She said her life was all over the place after her relationship with her partner of 30 years had fallen apart. Her drug addiction was spiralling out of control.

“She admitted she had stolen both of the elderly ladies handbags. She said she would like them to convey to the victims that she was really sorry for stealing their handbags.”

In her victim impact statement summarised by Ms Magill, one of the victims described how she had lost her confidence and was scared when anybody she didn’t know approached her.

Breen, who has 27 convictions for 56 offences, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, failing to surrender to custody and breaching a suspended sentence.

Defending, Laura Heywood, said her client had got into arrears with her rent and was stealing to try and get out of debt. The landlord has since put the property up for sale and evicted Breen and her partner, who has terminal lung cancer, leaving them homeless.

Ms Heywood added: “The defendant has a record for similar offences which is perhaps typical of someone who lives a chaotic lifestyle and is addicted to drugs.

“She didn’t deliberately target elderly victims. She targeted people whose bags were easily reached.”

Jailing Breen for 50 weeks, Judge Sara Dodd, said: “You took away the victim’s piece of mind. You took away their confidence. When you take away their confidence at that age you take away their freedom. “