A MOTHER-of-three spent more than £1,000 in two days with stolen credit cards to raise cash to fund her crack cocaine habit.

Sarah Elbrow spent hundreds of pounds on jewellery as well as buying cigarettes, sweets and getting cash back from super-markets after finding the cards in the street.

But the 30 year-old, who has children aged 12, nine and five, was caught after one of the cards was refused as she tried to use it.

Olive Catton, prosecuting, told magistrates that Trudy Warner lost the cards in late September after leaving her home in Victoria Road to use a phone box in Regent Circus.

By the time the cards were reported missing she was told they had been used and the account on one was overdrawn.

The cards were first used on October 1 when a £200 gold bracelet was bought at a Swindon jeweller's.

She said that purchase was followed by two visits to Sains-bury's where Elbrow, pretending to be Miss Warner, got cigarettes, confectionery and cash totalling £109. None of the goods or money was recovered.

She also bought a ring and bracelet from Samuel's jewellers and a watch from Argos which were later recovered by police.

The following day Elbrow bought a gold diamond and sapphire ring worth £149.50 from Walker and Halls in the Outlet Village, cigarettes and cash from Kwiksave and some jeans and a belt from Henri Lloyd. Only the ring was recovered.

Miss Catton said the defendant was caught after going to the Nike store in the Outlet Village where the card she tried to present was refused.

Elbrow, who was with a man who was not caught, was handed over to police and found to have one of Miss Warner's cards on her.

The other was handed to security staff by another shopper who found it on the floor.

"When she was interviewed by police she said she had found the two cards on the pavement on Victoria Road," she said. "She said she knew she could get money in the form of cash back as she was having a hard time financially."

She said that the total amount spent was £1,037.50 and Elbrow, of Ainsworth Road, Park South, told officers that the stolen goods were sold and the money was used to buy drugs.

Elbrow, who has no previous convictions, admitted theft, three deceptions on October 1, one deception and one attempted deception the following day. She asked for four further counts of deception to be taken into con-sideration.

Tony Nowogrodzki, defending, said "She is a lady of good character who had never been in a police station before let alone the magistrates court.

"She had started experimenting with crack cocaine and as a result she has had no end of difficulties. "

He said that she used the cards in places with CCTV and so it was easy to identify her once the cards were reported stolen.

Elbrow, he said, was currently living with her mother and was clean from drugs. He said if she went back onto crack she would be thrown out of the house leaving her and her children homeless.

Magistrates adjourned to case to November 22 for pre-sentence reports to be prepared but told Elbrow they were not considering custody.