A couple stole baby milk and other groceries from a store because they had no money but then later sold the items to pay for drugs.

Heroin addicts Karen Higgs and Mark Driver walked into the Co-op in Colney Road, Dartford, earlier this month to swipe the items.

Higgs, 47, and Driver, 52, were both on conditional discharges they’d been given for previous shoplifting offences when they carried out the offence.

They were later identified via CCTV and Higgs, of Keyes Road, Dartford, and Driver, of Burnham Road, in the town, were charged with shoplifting.

The pair pleaded guilty to the offence and being in breach of conditional discharges when they appeared before Deputy District Judge Nicola Fleck at Medway Magistrates’ Court on February 11.

The court heard Driver was given a 24-month conditional discharge for shoplifting just weeks earlier on January 15, 2025, and Higgs received a 12-month conditional discharge on October 11, 2024.

Driver, who has at least 75 convictions, had been given the prior court sentence for stealing almost £30 of chocolate from a Co-op store in Dartford.

Rajni Prashar, prosecuting, said of the latest offence: “It was February 4, and they both went into the Co-op in Dartford and selected baby milk and groceries and put them in bags and left the store without making any attempt to pay.

“This was all caught on CCTV and they were identified by a staff member and then later by a police officer and they were arrested on February 10.

“The offence is aggravated by their previous convictions and their lack of compliance with court orders.”

Sara Haroon, defending, said Higgs has struggled with drugs and had been an addict for 20 years, but that there had been a significant gap in her offending for two years until her more recent crimes.

She was stable and got accommodation and this made a difference, she felt safe and was plodding along

She added: “She was stable and got accommodation and this made a difference, she felt safe and was plodding along.

“But there was a relapse because her benefits had stopped and she got depressed and lost her mobile phone.

“She has to engage with the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) so her benefits continue, but she had no access to the internet because she lost her phone and she was unable to engage and her benefits stopped.

“She had no money and old associates gave her drugs and she sold the goods to give the funds (to the drug dealer), but she’s now back on track.

“They are in a relationship, but they don’t live together and they are both heroin users, but are supported by their families and are remorseful.”

Judge Fleck decided she needed pre-sentencing reports to be carried out on Higgs and Driver before they were sentenced because of their extensive previous records and breaches of conditional discharges.

They were granted bail until their sentencing hearing which will be held at the same court in a few weeks.