Serial shoplifter convicted for 175th time is spared jail AGAIN after magistrates give her ‘another chance'

A Shoplifter convicted for the 175th time was spared a prison sentence after magistrates decided to give her another last chance.

Joanne Jones, 31, has faced more than 200 court hearings and served 34 jail terms over the past 16 years, at a cost to the taxpayer of more than £700,000.

But she walked free from the court after Canterbury magistrates decided there was a "chink of light" to suggest she could change – despite the fact that she was on bail when she committed her last offence and is still hooked on heroin.