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A “appalling” Leeds employee burgled her work to steal vans worth £60,000, and then bit an officer trying to arrest her before she urinated in the back of a police car.

Debt-ridden Sarah Weavers “foolishly” used her own employee entry pass into Mazuli Bifold Doors in Wortley in February last year. She had been on the sick at the time, but failed to realise that the use of that fob was immediately logged on the security system.

But when the police came to arrest her, she became volatile and bit an officer on the wrist, tried to smash the window of the police car then urinated in the car. The 44-year-old admitted a non-dwelling burglary, assault on an emergency worker and two counts of criminal damage.

Prosecutor Sam Roxborough told Leeds Crown Court that on February 11 last year, CCTV picked up Weavers and three unidentified people entering the firm’s premises on Gelderd Road. A short time later, two vans were driven out of the premises with Weavers spotted behind the wheel of one.

Weavers burgled her own place of work at Mazuli in Wortley. (pic Google Maps)

One van was later recovered in the Bradford area. The other was never found. Weavers, of Shakespeare Avenue, Todmorden, was arrested 15 days later.

Weavers was not represented in court, but told the judge that she had been addicted to cocaine and booze, and had racked up a debt as a result. But she had taken steps to address her problems, having not touched either since earlier this year.

She also has a new job with Arsenal Football Club, making merchandise. Asked about her behaviour towards the police, she said she had been a victim of domestic violence and does not like “anybody touching her”. She has previous convictions for assaulting emergency workers.

Judge Anesh Pema told her: “You were foolish enough to use your own personalised key fob by which you were traced. You were addicted to both alcohol and drugs which led to a debt which you thought you had to repay in this way. It was inept planning. But when you were arrested you acted in an appalling way.”

Pointing to her progress, he said he could draw back from a custodial sentence and gave her an 18-month community order, 10 rehabilitation days and 150 hours of unpaid work.

‘Appalling’ Leeds employee burgled her own work then purposely urinated in police car during her arrest