Mother begs judge to JAIL her drug-addict daughter for Christmas out of 'desperation and love'
- Kimberley Probert, 30, admitted a string of thefts and attempted thefts in court
- Her mother Wendy Probert pleaded with the trial judge to jail her daughter
- Mrs Probert said she feared her daughter would be in danger on the streets
- Ms Probert will reappear at Worcester Crown Court in February for sentence
A mother has told how she acted out of 'love and desperation' when she begged a judge to jail her drug addict daughter.
Kimberley Probert, 30, appeared in court to be sentenced for a string of thefts from shops and pickpocket crimes which she did to fund her heroin habit.
Her mother, Wendy, 54, who was watching from the public gallery, was asked to speak to the judge about the help her daughter needed to stop reoffending.
Heroin addict Kimberley Probert, pictured, has been jailed over Christmas after the intervention of her mother asked a judge to remand her in custody ahead of sentencing
Wendy Probert, left, asked trial judge Daniel Pearce-Higgins to jail her daughter Kimberly, right, over Christmas while efforts were made to send her to a rehabilitation clinic. Mrs Probert said she feared her daughter would not receive sufficient support in the community
Mrs Probert told the judge her daughter was being assessed for a placement at a rehabilitation centre but said she should remain behind bars.
She told the judge: 'I don't want her out until they've done it (assessed her).
'It would benefit my daughter for her mental state and drug use.
'I'm not convinced she will receive sufficient support in the community to keep her on the straight and narrow.'
Mrs Probert added that she urged the judge to keep her in prison because she was 'desperate' for her daughter to receive help to kick her addiction.
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She said: 'I did it for mother's love and desperation.'
Probert appeared at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday to be sentenced after she admitted a string of thefts and attempted thefts.
Judge Daniel Pearce-Higgins QC adjourned the sentencing until January for reports but agreed with Mrs Probert and remanded her daughter into custody.
He said: 'What is going to break the cycle?
'She is in the grip of a heroin addiction.'
Ms Probert stole televisions, meat and goods from Homebase to feed her heroin addiction
The court heard Probert stole meat and goods from Co-Op stores as well as a flat screen TV from Tesco in April and May.
In July she also stole £295 worth of goods from Homebase and the next month she took a camera worth £49.99 from another shop in Worcester.
Probert, of Worcester, also stole a wallet from a man who had helped her when she pretended she was being chased.
Prosecutor Lal Amarasinghe said: 'A man saw her running in front of his house in a distressed state on August 27 at around 2.40pm.
'She told him she was being followed by a Romanian male. He invited her in to help her and ensure her safety.
'She sat down on the sofa and he left for ten seconds to get her a glass of water. She said she didn't want to contact police.
'She got up and left and he discovered his wallet had been taken.
'It's an unpleasant theft from a residential dwelling, having been invited in.'
The court heard she was caught for the theft of the camera when police saw her offering it for sale on her Facebook page.
Speaking after the court hearing, Mrs Probert, of Worcester, said: 'Because of the nature of the crimes, especially the wallets, it's not nice.
'She has been suffering and she needs some sort of help.
'She will accept it, whether it will work is to be seen.
'I would hope that if she gets the correct help we can stop this pattern of reoffending and drug use.
Ms Probert also convinced a man she was being chased by a stranger before stealing the good Samaritan's wallet after he invited her into his home for a glass of water
Ms Probert, pictured, will return to court in February for sentencing
'She was actually clean for four-and-a-half years and she has got two children.'
Mrs Probert released photographs of her daughter following the hearing to warn others against using heroin.
She said: 'When I look at the pictures of Kimberley it really brings it home how damaging drugs are.
'She was a really pretty girl, lovely blue eyes and a warm smile. It makes me weep to see how much the drugs have changed her.
'That's why I'm determined to get her the help she needs.
'She will be in prison over Christmas but at the moment, she's in the safest place.
'If that judge had let her out of prison, you don't know what she would have done.
Mrs Probert released photographs of her daughter to show what she was like before getting addicted to heroin in order to act as a warning to other people
'She might have thought, 'let's make the most of Christmas, see my babies and move forward'.
'But the chances are eventually Christmas would have put her on a downer and she might have decided to use anyway?
'With a lot of addicts, that is their coping mechanism, "let's blot it all out and get off our faces".
Mrs Probert said she is heartbroken because she cannot do anything to help her daughter
'It breaks your heart, its soul destroying because you can't do anything for them really.
'You can't change the way she decides to live her life.
'To see a decline like that is heartbreaking.
'You worry you're going to have a knock on the door that she's dead.
'I couldn't stop my daughter doing it could I?
'It's a difficult one, people make wrong choices in life and we are left to pick up the pieces.
'It's a very sad fact of life.
'I feel mental health services have let her down as well.
'But what can we do?
'I just hope she gets the help she needs.
'Maybe she has the courage to stay away from it once and for all.
'But I won't hold my breath because we don't know what the outcome is going to be.
'I hope it turns out alright.
'I obviously want her to go to rehabilitation.
'She can't be back on the street, it's too soon.'
Mrs Probert said she feels that mental health services have let her daughter down
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