A prolific shoplifter who also assaulted a policeman after being caught drink-driving has been given an 18-month community order.

Judge Daniel Sawyer handed down the sentence to Rachael Cole when she appeared via video link from HMP Bronzefield at Portsmouth Crown Court on February 7.

Cole of Whitehill committed 26 offences between July 4 and December 12 last year, including 20 counts of shoplifting at Liphook Sainsbury’s, B&M Bordon, Tesco Fleet and Tesco, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer in Haslemere.

There were also four counts of failing to surrender to bail, and one each of driving while unfit through alcohol and assaulting a police officer after a car accident in Bramley near Guildford on October 29.

Cole, 44, of Warren Close, admitted all the offences when she appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on January 10. She had 26 previous convictions.

Timothy Concannon, prosecuting, said the total value of the goods stolen from shops was just under £5,000.

Describing the assault on the policeman after the car accident, Mr Concannon said: “She got rather upset when being searched but she didn’t make contact with him.”

A breath test revealed Cole had 33 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.

But Mr Concannon added: “There may have been other factors involved. Her behaviour suggested she was under the influence of something else as well, but she was not tested for it.”

Of the failing to surrender to bail offences, he said they were a case of “couldn’t get there, not blatant defiance”.

Mr Concannon said Cole had definitely been in custody since January 10 and may have been there since November. He said she had done the equivalent of eight weeks in custody.

Judge Sawyer said that having looked at Cole’s finances he was not going to make an order for compensation, because “it would cost more to administer the compensation than you would get back”.

The pre-sentence report said Cole had previously been free of alcohol and drug problems for 16 years, between 2004 and 2020, and she now felt confident she could stay off drink and drugs again.

Casey Chard, defending, said: “Last night I read about two different Rachael Coles. The difference between these two people is drugs and alcohol.

“She is candid about her problems and wants to put in the hard work to change. She simply asks for help. When help was offered before, she wasn’t ready. She is now.”

Speaking about Cole’s time in prison, he added: “She has made commendable progress and is doing everything she can to show she wants to change and can change.

“She has a responsible job as an orderly, she is doing park runs which are helping her mental health, she has been elected as the spokesperson on her wing and she has reduced her methadone prescription.

“I would recommend a community order and ask that any custody be suspended so she can receive the help she desperately wants.”

Addressing Cole, Judge Sawyer said: “The length of time it takes to go through your list of offences shows the level of your stealing.

“I’ve tried to work out what the sentence would be if the sentence was immediate imprisonment, and I wound up at about a year. The offences on their own are not custodial, but it’s the number of them.

“I’ve been impressed with the pre-sentence report. For every offence I’m going to impose an 18-month community order, with 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement. If you end up in front of me again, expect a year.”

Judge Sawyer banned Cole from driving for a year for the driving while unfit offence and imposed a surcharge to support victims of crime.

Cole will be back in Portsmouth Crown Court on March 25 for the first monthly review of her drug rehabilitation requirements.