A FORMER drug gang member was shown mercy by York magistrates when she appeared for shoplifting while on prison parole.

Janine Anya Cattemull, 30, of Ripon, was released from jail in June partway through a four-year term for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in North Yorkshire.

She pleaded guilty to stealing an £18 gift set from Boots’ store in Ripon on October 11.

For her, Kevin Blount said she had been under pressure from others in the drug community to steal, but was doing her best to cut her ties with the underworld and stay off heroin with help from probation officers.

Magistrates gave her a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered her to pay £18 compensation, £85 prosecution costs and a £20 statutory surcharge, and said she would be jailed if she reoffends. She remains on parole until June 2018.