Mum turned to drugs and crime after seeing her child killed in hit and run accident, court told

Ex-con Kirsty Ryan (33) hit Laura Hutchinson in the face, knocking off and breaking her £180 glasses, before she bit her left hand.

The victim had gone to stop Ryan after the £30 theft from Spar stores, Todmorden Road, Burnley, the town's magistrates' court was told.

Mother-of-six Ryan, who also went pinching from TK Maxx in Burnley, helping herself to a £300 haul of handbags, was in breach of conditional discharges, imposed for five theft charges and a racially aggravated public order offence.

The defendant, who was caught on CCTV, is said to be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, bi-polar disorder, a personality disorder and post natal depression.

The defendant, who is currently on a detox programme and testing clean of drugs, was given 12 weeks in prison, suspended for a year, with a six-month drugs programme.

A district judge told her she was "writing off" £170 in outstanding fines and replacing that with £300 compensation to Laura Hutchinson.

Ryan does not have to pay any costs or a victim surcharge. The defendant, of Plumbe Street, Burnley, was banned from the Spar shop and TK Maxx under an exclusion order. She admitted assault by beating and theft on Thursday, July 13th and two counts of theft, to a total of £324.99, on Thursday, March 23rd and Tuesday, August 1st.

The hearing was told Ryan was apprehended by security staff at TK Maxx on Tuesday, August 1st and was also identified as being the handbag thief from cctv footage taken on Thursday, March 23rd.

Mr Nick Dearing, defending, said Ryan's record began, sadly, following the very traumatic bereavement she suffered witnessing her young daughter killed in a hit-and-run incident. She started to drink heavily and "graduated" to Class A controlled drugs, which led to "many lost years."

The solicitor said the defendant left prison in 2013 free from drugs, but her current partner, was also a drug user and started to bring her back into misuse.

She had attended the Women's Centre and had self-referred to Inspire, the treatment service.

Mr Dearing said: "Her position is that she's abstinent from drugs and she is working to be entirely drug free."

Mr Dearing told the hearing Ryan's partner, who she met outside the probation office, lived with her, but spent all his money on drugs. She paid the bills and for food.

The solicitor said :" He is manipulative, if not worse."

The solicitor said the member of staff at Spar had gripped Ryan firmly by the arm. He added: "It was hurting and she lashed out.

"She was taken back into the store and sat quietly."