Chelsea Danielle Briggs jailed for 20 offences in York and Scarborough

Chelsea Danielle Briggs, 27, was given a chance to lead a straight life when she was given a deferred sentence in June, York Magistrates' Court heard.

But she continued stealing from shops in south, west and central York, targeting some more than once and was also caught stealing in Scarborough.

• Read about how she was caught in the seaside town last month here

Some of the offences were committed whilst she was on bail or under supervision by the probation service.

She was repeatedly arrested and brought before the courts in custody.

“Unfortunately, you are released on bail, which has simply led to you committing more offences,” district judge Adrian Lower told her.

Her solicitor Liam Hassan said she was in the grip of a “raging drug addiction” and living a “chaotic lifestyle”.

The judge jailed Briggs for 20 offences in which she had stolen items worth £2,000.

Chelsea Danielle Briggs (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

He said the latest offences included checking into a hotel in south York on Christmas Eve but not paying for the facilities she used, pushing a national lottery metal stand into someone, hitting a shop employee and 14 shop thefts.

“You are a persistent thief and a thorn in the side of the side of the law-abiding public,” he told her.

Shoppers paid for her crimes because shops recouped their losses by putting up their prices.

He said he had deferred sentence on her in June in the hope that with some support she could stop stealing. But she had not.

“I can only hope you use your time in custody to reflect on the way you are living your life and when you are released from custody you make a better fist of working with probation, “ he said.

Briggs, of Bramham Grove, Chapelfields, pleaded guilty to 14 offences of theft, two assaults, one offence of fraud and three failures to attend court.

In addition to the jail term, she was ordered to pay compensation to the two men she assaulted and to the shops totalling £520. She lives on benefits.

Browns in Davygate

She targeted Co-op shops in Acomb centre and Beagle Ridge Drive, Foxwood, Browns in the city centre where she stole cosmetics and a gift set totalling £886, Boyes in Goodramgate, Costcutter in Wains Road, Dringhouses, Morrison’s Daily shop in Gale Lane, Acomb, the shop at London Bridge garage, Tadcaster, Road, and Savers in York.

Three of the offences were committed in October and November 2020.

Briggs was sent to jail in December 2020 and when she breached her prison licence following her release in Spring 2021, police mounted a hunt for her to get her back behind bars.

• Read about the hunt here.

By September 2021, she was free again and committed the rest of the offences between then and January 2023.