A WOMAN caught shoplifting gave police a false identity by giving the name of an old school friend.

Kirsty Gordani stole goods worth £121 from Asda in Bromsgrove but was stopped by security staff.

She then showed a police officer a bank card which backed up the false name, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Magistrates who first heard the case gave Gordani a community order - but the woman whose identity she took found out and reported it, said Peter Grice, prosecuting.

Gordani, aged 29, of Fulbert Road, Pershore, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and theft. She was jailed for seven months.

She was caught on October 17 after stealing 16 items of children's clothing in a bid to pay off drug debts.

She was a prolific shoplifter and had used the drug explanation for her crimes many times in the past, said Mr Grice.

Gordani often breached community orders but was getting help in prison while on remand, said Mark Lister, defending.

The mother-of-one had missed her son's eighth birthday while locked up and intended to make an effort to break the cycle of drug taking and crime.

Mr Lister said although she had been jailed by magistrates before, it was her first time in crown court and was very shaken by the experience.

Judge Patrick Thomas QC said he hoped she would make a better life for herself and her child when she was freed.

But he said she had committed "a nasty offence" against a friend who had run the risk of having a criminal record she did not deserve.