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A woman left with just £44 a month on Universal Credit was caught stealing nine pairs of jeans from Primark, a court heard.

Lisa Payne "simply couldn't survive with £44" over an entire month, her solicitor claimed.

The court heard Payne stole £117 worth of jeans from a Primark at the Freshney Place shopping centre in Grimsby, Lincolnshire.

The 46-year-old draped the pairs of jeans - costing £13 each - over her arm and walked out of the shop, but she failed to elude security officers, GrimsbyLive reported.

A guard followed her out of the store and the jeans were recovered during the theft on May 23.

Payne, of Grimsby, admitted stealing the jeans.

She was given a one-year conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £20 victims' surcharge.

Prosecutor Joanne Markham told Grimsby magistrates that Payne picked up the jeans, put them over her arm and walked out of the store.

Payne later said: "I had a drink this morning. To be fair, it's my first offence."

She admitted her actions were silly.

She was convicted of theft in 2002 and a different type of offence in 2015.

Craig Davy, mitigating, said Payne had suffered an alcohol problem but had been seeking help for at least six months.

He said she had been on Employment Support Allowance but was switched to Universal Credit.

For a month during the switched her benefits were reduced to just £44 a month.

Mr Davy said: "She simply couldn't survive with £44.

"She made a foolish error whereby she tried to steal clothes but the items have been recovered."