A Teesside woman has been given a 12-month suspended sentence after illegally copying and selling pirate DVDs.

Marie Hood, 53, of Woodhouse Road, Guisborough, appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Friday.

The defendant was also given a two-year supervision order and ordered to forfeit more than £32,000 worth of computer equipment and films.

Hood admitted making thousands of illegal copies of films, which she then sold locally and on the Internet.

Trading standards officers and police raided her home and seized large stocks of films and the computer equipment used for copying.

In mitigation, the judge acknowledged that the defendant pleaded guilty and had difficult personal circumstances, including a disability.

He also said that had it not been for pressure from a male acquaintance, the defendant would not have been involved.

But he added that her actions fully justified a custodial sentence.

Following the prosecution, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's trading standards department has issued a warning to anyone involved in such illegal operations.

Jeff Bell, chief trading standards officer, said: "Crime doesn't pay - sooner or later its payback time.

"We are now utilising proceeds of crime legislation to claw back assets wherever possible, as a means of protecting the honest taxpayers who, in this instance, subsidised the defendant with numerous benefits while she was making a dishonest income."

Councillor Joyce Benbow, the council's cabinet member for community safety, said: "I am really pleased to see the strong partnership between our trading standards officers and Cleveland Police in recovering the ill-gotten proceeds of crime."