Arleston woman sentenced after stealing over £1200 worth of goods

A woman from Arleston has been sentenced at Telford Magistrates’ Court following a spree of shoplifting incidents that saw more than £1,200 worth of items stolen from local retailers in just two days.

Saraya Basica, 20, of Princess Avenue, appeared before magistrates on 11 March 2026 to face three charges of theft from a shop.

The court heard that the thefts took place between 5 March and 6 March 2026. The most significant haul occurred on 5 March, when Basica stole laundry products, clothing, body care items, and toiletries valued at £656.21 from Home Bargains.

She returned to the same retailer the following day, 6 March, to take a further £315 worth of household items, consumables, and cleaning products.

On that same day, Basica also targeted a Co-op store in Telford.

The list of stolen goods from the convenience store included a wide array of items such as toilet roll, shampoo, Coca-Cola, Ariel pods, Lenor Unstoppables, crisps, coffee, cakes, biscuits, Dove body wash, Celebration pouches, large Kinder eggs, and various other confectionery, totalling £315.

Basica pleaded guilty to all three charges, and the court noted that these pleas were taken into account during sentencing.

For the offences, she was handed a community order lasting until 10 March 2027. This order includes a requirement to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months under the supervision of Shropshire Magistrates’ Court.

In addition to the unpaid work, Basica was ordered to pay compensation.

This included £75.00 related to the Home Bargains thefts and £25.00 for the items taken from Co-op. The court issued a collection order for these payments, with a deadline for the full amount to be paid by 24 April 2026.

No victim surcharge or court costs were ordered, with magistrates citing Basica’s limited means and the decision to prioritise the payment of compensation to the affected businesses.