AN IRVINE woman has been fined for stealing from a beauty product store in the town after relapsing into drug use while suffering anxiety at the thought of seeing her abusive ex again.

Louise Hannah targeted Sally Beauty, the Salon Services store in the Rivergate Shopping Centre.

Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard Hannah, 37, stole a gel lamp, which is a UV light used to harden gel nail polish, on November 26 last year.

Hannah, 36, successfully made off with the item, which was worth £70, without being caught.

But the incident was caught on CCTV, and police officers identified her from the footage, reporting the matter to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and leading to the prosecution against her.

Defence solicitor Peter Murray said unemployed Hannah, 36, is on benefits and receives £220 per fortnight.

The lawyer explained: “She has a fairly lengthy record of convictions for analogous matters, which is clearly eloquent of a young lady who’s had addiction issues the majority of her adult life.”

He said she managed to stay out of trouble between 2012 and 2016 as she had got sober.

But she relapsed and then managed to get back on the straight and narrow, staying clean for another three years.

He added: “She was the victim of a very serious assault on her person by her former partner.

“He is due for release and she has been extremely anxious about his release back into the community.

“She relapsed again.”

After hearing that she is prescribed methadone, and pointing out it was a number of years since she had last been convicted of theft, Sheriff Michael Higgins fined her £200, reduced from £300 as she admitted her guilt, and ordered her to pay a £10 victim surcharge.