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Woman given a criminal record for pocketing £20 she found on the floor

A women with no previous convictions has been given a criminal record after she kept a £20 note she found on the floor.

Nicole Bailey, 23, found the money in the One Stop store in Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, and rather than hand it in, pocketed it for herself.

CCTV footage from inside the shop showed her picking up the note and police later tracked her down to arrest her on a charge of theft.

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Ms Bailey had initially told police that she had not pocketed the money but later admitted it when shown the footage.

It turned out that the cash belonged to a man who withdrew it from a machine inside the store before he dropped it.

He later told staff he had lost it but a search found no trace of it anywhere.

Nicole Bailey found the money in the One Stop shop in Stoke-on-Trent (Google)
Nicole Bailey found the money in the One Stop shop in Stoke-on-Trent (Google)

Ms Bailey pleaded guilty to theft when she appeared in court, where mitigator Simon Dykes said the matter should have been dealt with by a police caution.

He said: “She didn’t know who the money belonged to. People don’t realise picking up something you have found amounts to a theft. She has been quite naive in doing so.”

Ms Bailey has been given a conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £175 in costs and charges.

Staffordshire Police Chief Inspector Karen Stevenson, said that the case should prove to be a warning to those who think it is acceptable to keep money found on the floor.

She added: “We would actively encourage any member of the public who picks up money that has been dropped to be honest and do the right thing by taking all reasonable steps to try and find the owner.”

Top pic: Flickr