A SHOPLIFTER walked out of a garden centre with 64 boxes of Cadbury’s Creme Eggs — containing 320 of the chocolate treats.
Leah Harding, 37, was caught on CCTV with a male companion as she launched a theft spree.
After leaving the Barn Garden Centre in Peterborough, Cambs, she went to nearby Dobbies Garden Centre and stole bottles of spirits worth £300.
The next month she grabbed alcohol and cheese on three occasions from the Co-op in Eye.
She was finally arrested on March 18.
Peterborough magistrates’ court sentenced her to 41 weeks in prison after she admitted five counts of theft from a shop.
Harding, of no known address, was also ordered to pay £882 in compensation.
Afterwards, PC Rebecca Risebrow said: “Harding brazenly stole from several retailers with no thought of the impact of her actions.
“These were not isolated incidents, but persistent behaviour that caused financial loss and disruption to local businesses.
“We continue to work closely with retailers to identify offenders, share information and take positive action.”
Choc crime has risen in the run-up to Easter.
Last week, 12 tons of KitKats — more than 400,000 of the new F1 car-shaped bars — were stolen from a lorry in Italy.
KitKat said customers and retailers can type their eight-digit batch number, on the back of the wrapper, into an online “KitKat tracker” to see if theirs is part of that haul.
