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A young mum gloated on Facebook at being spared jail - just moments after sobbing uncontrollably in the dock.

Cruel puppy farmer Zoe Rushmer, 26, had been handed a merciful suspended prison term after pleading for clemency over her four children.

But just moments after being let off, Rushmer - who was in a gang which made £300k by selling sick puppies - bragged on Facebook about her “freedom!!!”.

The dimwit crook also posted a photo of her clad in a black balaclava and smoking a cigarette.

Alongside the image were the words ‘wing it’ and a fist-bump emoji.

Rushmer was hauled back to Norwich Crown Court on Friday after the posts were brought to the judge’s attention.

(Image: Midlands Media Agency)

Judge Andrew Shaw accused Rushmer of shedding crocodile tears during her court case and that she was simply “hoping to get away with it”.

He said: “She sobbed her way through the hearing and I was reliably informed by my usher that her tears dried up once she left court.

“To wear that balaclava the moment before one appears in court, smoking a cigarette in that way with the caption ‘wing it’, does not indicate remorse.

“It indicates someone who is hoping to get away with it.”

Ian James, defending, claimed Rushmer wore the balaclava to avoid being pictured by the press and that she was genuinely remorseful.

After spending five hours debating whether to jail her, Judge Shaw decided not to alter her sentence.

He said: “”While I still have my doubts about how remorseful you are, the real reason I imposed the sentence I did was I did not think it right to deprive four such young children of their mother.

“I hope this has been a wake up call for you. It is about time you set your children a better example than you have been doing thus far.”

(Image: Universal News & Sport)

Rushmer admitted fraud and animal welfare offences alongside her brother Michael Rushmer, 27, and partner Jacob Murphy, 27, who were jailed for three-and-a-half years.

The court heard how Rushmer used her children to convince animal lovers that the sick and dying dogs she was selling had come from loving homes.

In reality they were kept in squalid conditions at White House Farm in Thurlton, Norfolk. Some had to be put down and many others were riddled with fleas and worms.

The RSPCA described the conditions the dogs were found in 2017 as “disgusting”.