SOFT JUSTICE: Woman who stole more than £600 of goods from Sainsbury's told to pay just £71 out

A WOMAN who stole hundreds of pounds of electrical goods and printer ink from Sainsbury's stores has had to pay just £71 as a punishment.

Eileen Reilly, 19, from Cotswold Road, Westcliff, admitted lifting £370 of electrical items from the Chelmsford branch of the supermarket chain on December 11 last year.

At Basildon Magistrates' Court last month she also admitted the theft of seven printer ink cartridges worth £287.50 from the Grays branch on February 19 this year.

Reilly was given a conditional discharge for 12 months, which effectively means there is no further punishment.

However, she was also ordered to pay £50 CPS costs and a £21 victim surcharge.

It will be deducted out of her benefits payments that she lives on.

In July, when Essex News and Investigations revealed Reilly had been charged, we also told how printer ink theft was on the rise due to its small size and relatively high value.