A TEENAGE girl who dreamed of breaking with her family’s criminal firm and launching her own crooked enterprise is behind bars tonight (Friday, November 14) after admitting her part in a designer clothing scam that cost high street stores “thousands and thousands” of pounds.

Caitlyn Bainbridge was the Internet whizz in a family shoplifting firm headed by her “villain” mother, Dawn.

The 19-year-old marketed the operation’s ill-gotten goods via Facebook, arranged sales and took payments via her Paypal online payments account.

Last month, Judge Sean Morris jailed Dawn Bainbridge for 30 months, condemning her as the “villain of the piece”, and her older daughter Claire, 21, for 20 months, saying she thought the normal rules of society didn’t apply to her.

At Newcastle Crown Court today (Friday, November 14), Jamie Adams, for Caitlyn Bainbridge, suggested the story was “reminiscent of Dickens”, with Dawn Bainbridge as the “feeble Fagin” sending his children out to steal and Caitlyn as the Oliver Twist character trapped under her bad influence.

However, Judge Morris told the teenager: “You were the banker. You were the marketer. You went on some of the (shoplifting) trips as well.”

Caitlyn Bainbridge, of Bay Court, Ushaw Moor, County Durham, was jailed for 16 months.

The family stole clothes from high street stores across the north of England and southern Scotland and sold via a Facebook profile dubbed Designer Goods North East.

The scam came to light after an investigator for high street chain Next bought clothes online and proved them to have been stolen.

Police who searched the family home at The Crescent, West Rainton, found detailed sales records, a debtors’ book and notes including one written by Caitlyn in which she boasted of making £100 a week and dreamed of going it alone.

Caitlyn initially denied conspiring to steal, but then changed her plea to guilty.

Mr Adams said she accepted full responsibility for her actions, but had GCSEs and was articulate and well-presented and he asked for a new probation service report into her circumstances.

Judge Morris refused the request and jailed her immediately.

“This was a professional criminal family firm. Thousands and thousands of pounds of goods were taken on professionally planned shoplifting expeditions and they were professionally marketed by you,” he told the teen.