A WOMAN was spared a jail sentence yesterday because of the efforts she had made to reform her lifestyle.

Darlington Magistrates Court heard how Lisa Jayne Wilson, 21, of Arthur Street, Darlington, admitted stealing a handbag worth £235.

She also admitted using stolen cheques and credit cards to pay for £500-worth of goods in Darlington post offices and Morrisons supermarket in September.

The court was told how Wilson was using cocaine at the time of the thefts.

Zoe Passfield, mitigating, said: "She has not used cocaine since her arrest, and does not intend to again. She has also joined a rehabilitation project to distance herself from the peers she kept."

Magistrate Jean Johnson gave her a six-month community rehabilitation order and said: "We have been impressed by the way you have turned your life around."