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A shoplifter who drew a face on a nude coloured bra and passed it off as her baby in a bid to fool store staff has been sentenced.

Saffron Curtiss-McGinty hatched the cunning plan to stash stolen goods under a child’s buggy when she went on a stealing spree at B&M Bargains in Stratford Road, Solihull.

When the 18-year-old realised she lacked an actual baby, she made one by using a cuddly toy dog, scrawling a face on a bra cup and dressing it in a babygrow and scratch mitts.

Her bra-vo efforts fell flat when suspicious staff stopped her on January 27 and discovered scented candles, sweets and an electric toothbrush hidden amongst her bundle of joy.

West Midlands Police officers attended at 1.30pm and arrested Curtiss-McGinty, from Conybere Road, Highgate, for theft and assault following allegations she’d slapped a store manager across the face.

Curtiss-McGinty admitted two counts of shoplifting – having also been caught on CCTV stealing from the same store the previous day – and assault by beating. She was given a 12-month community order at Birmingham Magistrates Court on Friday.

Solihull Police Chief Inspector Jack Hadley, said: “She won’t be winning any awards for her artwork that’s for sure… I guess her baby portrait could be politely described as ‘abstract’.

“We have known thieves try to use a child’s buggy before to conceal stolen items – it’s a tactic police and retailers are well aware of – but I’ve never come across a case of anyone making their own child!

“Shoplifting is a serious matter, though, and recent figures show that West Midlands Police investigates some 16,000 shop thefts a year… costing the tax-payer more than £1-million.

“We work with stores on crime prevention initiatives like radio schemes linking officers with shopkeepers and Facewatch that allows retailers to quickly pass crime reports and CCTV to our investigators.

“We have robust offender management programmes and, for prolific offenders, can apply for criminal behaviour orders to ban them from retail centres – and if they breach the orders offenders face being jailed.”

Curtiss-McGinty was also ordered to pay costs and compensation.