Grandmother of eleven is on the nick again

A grandmother with 61 previous convictions has been jailed for trying to swipe a jacket from M&S.

Penelope Dew, 60, was observed acting suspiciously in the store on Gracechurch Street in the City of London on 5 May.

Dew had wrapped tin foil around the security tag of the coat before attempting to leave the shop as her friend tried to distract staff.

Both women left the store, only to be stopped by police later that day on Liverpool Street.

Dew was arrested and also found to have a fake £50 note.

Her lawyer Kash Balogun said she ‘had no intention of passing on’ and simply wanted to ‘frame it’.

Dew has 61 previous convictions, 34 of which are for for theft.

She was jailed for 15 months in July for breaching a suspended sentence.

Dew has been a drug addict for 20 years and stole to fund her habit and to survive, the court heard.

She has five children and 11 grand children.

Dew, of Ridley Road, Dalston, east London, admitted going equipped for theft and possessing a counterfeit note. She was jailed for a total of eight months.