Woman jailed for stealing €200 worth of shopping from Lidl

David Forsythe

A woman who admitted stealing goods valued at €200 from a Lidl supermarket in Co. Cork has been sentenced to five months in prison.

Court presenter Sergeant Linda O’Leary told Youghal District Court that Bridget O’Driscoll, 30, of Williamstown Way, Airport Road, Waterford was charged with one count of theft in relation to the incident.

The court heard that on July 25th, 2022 four females entered the Lidl store at Mill Road, Youghal, Co. Cork.

They were observed placing items valued at €200 in a shopping bag and then leaving the store through the checkout area without paying for the goods.

Ms O’Driscoll was identified on CCTV as carrying the bag as she left the store.

Defence solicitor James Moore told the court that his client’s life was “chaotic” at the time the offence was committed.

He said she was the mother of five children including a five-month-old and had now “settled down” and moved into a new house. He said that given the age of her children she was “asking the court to give her a chance.”

The court was told that Ms O’Driscoll had 26 previous convictions including 13 for theft including three for thefts carried out in Waterford on the same day as this offence.

Judge Brian O’Shea said that the accused had been convicted for theft as recently as August 2024 and also received a suspended sentence, he asked “when is it going to stop?”

The judge said that Ms O’Driscoll was the mother of four children when she committed previous thefts and added: “she’s not thinking about the children when she’s stealing, only when she is in court.”

The judge said that a previous suspended sentence had not deterred Ms O’Driscoll from stealing and her record of previous theft convictions was a significant aggravating factor.

He convicted Bridget O’Driscoll and sentenced her to five months in prison. Recognisance in the event of an appeal was fixed in her own bond of €200 cash.