A BRAZEN thief stacked up a shopping trolley with £263 worth of goods and then attempted to walk out the store without paying.

Fortunately, Natalie Bachen was stopped by a Morrisons employee as she left the Alloa supermarket on October 19 last year and was later arrested for failing to provide a receipt for the clothes, groceries and household items she nabbed - which were all recovered.

Defending, Mr McFarlane told the town's Justice of the Peace Court last Wednesday that his 33-year-old client had been "associating with the wrong crowd" at the time of the incident.

Bachen, of Linlithgow Palace in Stenhousemuir, was said to be feeling "low" after her son was taken off her. Since last year, however, the accused has started to turn her life around and is making continuous progress by staying away from drugs.

Mr McFarlane explained that Bachen's "end goal" is to get joint custody of her son, which she will only do if she stays out of trouble.

Justice Michael Bromby deferred sentence until September 13 for the accused's good behaviour.