A DRUG addict has been jailed after admitting a 'despicable offence' of stealing a handbag from a woman giving first aid.

Lesley Jones, 45, admitted stealing the handbag from the woman as she tended to a man who had collapsed in Weymouth town centre.

She was jailed for eight weeks at Weymouth Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to the offence of theft as well as charges of possessing heroin and failure to surrender to police.

At an earlier hearing, Simon Brimacombe, prosecuting, said the victim, Abigail Grantham, went into Weymouth town centre at 11pm on May 9 with friends from work and ended up in the Actors Bar.

He added: "At 1.30am the victim left the bar and headed to a nearby takeaway.

"A man came up to the group and said he needed someone first aid trained so she followed him and found a man being helped up on a bench.

"She saw that his pupils were dilated so she put the man in the recovery position."

Mr Brimacombe said someone held the victim’s bag while she was giving first aid but at some stage the bag had been put on the floor.

When the victim went to grab her bag after the incident, she noticed it was gone.

The defendant was identified on CCTV, which showed her placing a rucksack on top of the victim’s own handbag, before moving away and taking the bag with her.

Three days later Jones, of School Hill, Chickerell, was located and questioned by police, but gave no comment answers during interview.

Mr Brimacombe added that Jones has ‘a lengthy record’ of shoplifting and theft, and in committing the offence, was in breach of a conditional discharge from a separate incident on January 2 this year.

Kenny Sharp, mitigating, said aside from the two offences this year Jones had not been convicted of theft since 2006.

He said: "My client’s circumstances were dismal on the evening in question and she had been begging in the town centre before committing this offence.

"She feels remorseful and her actions were spur of the moment – she herself went to help this man who had collapsed.

"The opportunity presented itself and given her personal circumstances she took it.

"She and her family have been going through a difficult time since October 2014. Her daughter lost her baby at eight weeks old so my client had lost her grandchild.

"She had been going through a downward spiral and had begun to use drugs and alcohol.

"It is a despicable offence but she is ashamed of what she did.

"She hasn't used for three months.

"She is doing something about her drug issue and she is in a different place today than she was six months ago.

"She could come out of prison in a worse position than she is now."

Magistrates’ chair William Gibbons told the court that there was 'no alternative' to a custodial sentence.

He said: "The theft of a handbag was a very unpleasant crime.

"With good behaviour you should serve four weeks.

"You should then get proper treatment for your drugs problem."

Jones was also ordered to pay £80 victim surcharge.