A CIRENCESTER woman who stole £9,000 from a playgroup has been sent to prison for nine months after admitting three other thefts.

Claire Thompson appeared at Gloucester Crown Court this morning after last month admitting three thefts of jewellery from houses where she was working as a cleaner.

Last August the 36-year-old was given a 26-week sentence, suspended for two years, after admitting stealing £9,000 from the Lewis Lane Playgroup.

As she had breached this suspended sentence, Judge Jamie Tabor QC said he felt he had little choice but to send her to prison and sentenced her to two months for each of the three recent thefts and three months for the playgroup theft, to run consecutively.

More follows.