Woman 'broke grandmother's heart' after selling £10,000 of her jewellery at Cash Converters to buy cocaine

Lily Mellies took the items as her habit spiralled out of control, Leeds Crown Court was told. Prosecutor Ella Embleton said her grandmother had been packing for a holiday in December of last year, and when she went to fetch her jewellery from a purpose-built safe in her home, the lock fell out and items inside were gone.

She called the police and her son, and they collated a list of people who had access to the house.

They went to Cash Convertors in Bramley to see if any of the names listed matched their records, and it showed that Mellies had pawned the items. Now 20, and of Grosvenor Road, Wakefield, she admitted a charge of theft.

Although the insurance company paid out to cover the losses, the jewellery had been gifted by her grandmother’s late husband and had sentimental value.

In a victim impact statement from her grandmother, read out to the court, she said: “I feel devastated. For Lily to take it all, I just can't understand it. She was always a good, caring, loving and respectful young woman.

“I love her very much and it broke my heart. I never expected to her to go down the road she has chosen. I'm prepared to forgive her if she shows some remorse but I will never forget.”

Mitigating, Laura Addy said: "She is very much genuinely remorseful and wishes she could go back and change the choices she made. There's no excuse for how she has behaved."

She said she suffers from severe mental health issues. Miss Addy added: "It's a rather sad story, but she has had the wake-up call and stopped the spiral which would have only got worse. She wishes very much to make amends to her grandmother.”

Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told her: “Your grandmother provided you with shelter and had a close relationship with you. She trusted you implicitly, and your way of repaying that kindness and generosity was to breach that trust.”

He gave her eight months’ jail, suspended for 18 months, and 25 rehabilitation days.