Victoria's Secret pyjama thief is jailed for seven months

Linda McCauley targeted Next three separate times to take multiple packs of the popular nightwear.

The 42-year-old also raided a branch of Boots for gift sets despite being banned from entering shops in the city.

McAuley, of Albany Place, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary, theft and resisting police.

Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard she went into Next on Donegall Place three times between September 20 and 30 last year.

On each occasion she put high-value nightwear products in a shopping bag and left without paying.

The stolen pyjama sets had a total value of £1,930, prosecutors disclosed.

Police identified McCauley on CCTV footage at the scene of the thefts.

She was arrested after triggering security alarms in a separate incident at a branch of Boots in Boucher Crescent retail park on October 9.

Staff followed her when she left the store with £95 worth of gift sets, but she struggled violently as they tried to detain her.

“Two off-duty police officers had to intervene, at which point she continued to resist and had to be restrained,” a Crown lawyer said.

McAuley was excluded from all stores in Belfast which participate in the Retail Crimewatch Scheme at the time of the thieving spree.

The court heard she previously stole goods with a total value of £518 from another Next store in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim on October 11, 2023.

Defence solicitor Norman Shannon set out how his client’s life has been blighted by alcohol and drugs.

He disclosed that McAuley was once a promising footballer who represented Northern Ireland at youth level.

“She beats (her addictions) and then falls off the wagon again,” Mr Shannon said.

Sentencing her to seven months in custody, District Judge George Conner declared: “Given the value of the pyjamas, this looks like a commercial theft effort.”