Pick-pocketing mum left Romania 'for a better life'

A YOUNG mum jailed for pick-pocketing in Birmingham said she regretted travelling to the UK from Romania.

- CARL JACKSON News Reporter

Esmeralda Negut targeted six people in the city centre, including The Bullring, while accomplices acted as lookout.

The 20-year-old stole a £1,000 phone from one woman and an envelope containing £2,000 in cash from another, while further attempts were unsuccessful.

Negut, of Wyggeston Street, Burton-upon-Trent was sentenced to 12 months detention at Birmingham Crown Court after admitting two counts of theft and four attempted thefts.

Her barrister Eoin Campbell said: “She is extremely remorseful for her actions.

“She said at the end of her police interview: ‘I'm sorry for everything I did I won't do anything like this again’.

“She came to the UK initially with the intention to work for a short period before returning to her home in Romania with some money to support her young family.

“When she arrived in this country she lived with her uncle for a short while.

“She found she could not work and her plan quickly went out of the window.