A familiar face greeted magistrates when a woman returned to the dock a day after being released from court on bail.

Tiffany Stevens, 25, of Cottimore Lane, Walton, left Staines Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, April 11, and went straight out and stole booze, the court heard.

The 25-year-old was in court on April 11 on charges of assault and criminal damage and magistrates bailed her until sentencing on May 3, but within hours she was arrested again, this time for pinching cider and lager from newsagents in Staines.

Stevens was hauled back in front of the bench on Thursday, April 12, where she pleaded guilty to stealing £12.23 of alcohol.

She also asked the court to another matter in to account – a theft from Waitrose in Weybridge on April 6.

Defence solicitor David Allmond told the court Stevens had recently attempted suicide and been detained under the Mental Health Act.

He said she was previously a person of good character, until her three children - aged three, four and seven - were taken in to care last October.

Mr Allmond told the court: “Things spiralled out of control. She is someone who desperately wants help.”

Despite the fact the offences she appeared in court for on April 11 were committed on police bail, and the shoplifting offence later that day was committed while on bail to police and the court, magistrates decided to give Stevens a second chance.

They ignored prosecutors Darren Matravers’ argument that her offending was indicative of her attitude towards bail, and rebailed Stevens until May 3; when they will sentence her for all of her offences.

Lead magistrate Malcolm Bond said: “We are concerned about the number of times you have committed an offence while on bail but we are going to grant you bail on this occasion.”

He said if she committed another crime between now and May 3, she was likely to be remanded in custody.