A young woman, who got into so much debt that she resorted to stealing more than £20,000, has been jailed for 18 months.

Danielle Perry wept as she was told by Judge Zoe Smith at Basildon Crown Court: "This was a mean set of offences."

The judge heard that 20-year-old Perry accumulated the debt by buying luxury fashion clothes and furniture she could not afford.

Perry pleaded guilty to four theft charges. She claimed she got into such a financial mess at one stage that she was close to taking her own life.

She began her stealing spree by spending £250 on a friend's credit card. Then she landed several jobs in which she cooked the books and stole about £20,000.

Perry tried to get out of trouble by using credit cards. She also acquired bank loans, but the debts would not go away.

After her arrest, Perry told police: "I could not stop spending. As the credit card debts grew, I began borrowing from friends."

Perry, now of no fixed address, claimed that in desperation she turned to borrowing money from street-corner loan sharks in the Grays and Stanford-le-Hope area.

Her barrister, Maria Dineen, said although Perry had brought shame on herself and her family they were still sticking by her.

Published Tuesday, January 28, 2003

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