A Grimsby mother who "lost her kids through drugs" was jailed for two years - on her 24th birthday.

Rebecca Whelpton burgled a house with another woman to feed her "all-consuming" heroin addiction, Grimsby Crown Court heard.

Her children were due to be adopted and their father was in prison, the court was told.

Whelpton, of no fixed address, admitted burglary and handling stolen goods.

Jonathan Straw, prosecuting, said a woman returned to her ground floor flat in Chester Walk, Grimsby, on November 12, to find jewellery and electrical items had been stolen. A panel of glass in a rear bedroom window had been broken.

Inquiries revealed that Whelpton and another woman had been spotted outside during the afternoon with property in bin liners.

They had also been seen going into a property nearby.

The court heard Whelpton also handled a stolen handbag taken in a burglary in Cambridge Road, Grimsby, in March.

In mitigation, James Sampson said Whelpton had a bad record and was spending her birthday in custody.

Heroin was the reason for her offending.
"It has been all-consuming for all too long in her life," said Mr Sampson.

Her two children, aged about two and three, were about to be adopted and their father was in prison serving a sentence of six-and-a-half years.

"She has lost her kids through drugs," said Mr Sampson.

She was in New Hall prison, near Wakefield, and was working in the kitchens cooking for other inmates, indicating that she was now drug-free.

"She is determined to rid herself of her heroin past. She has sorrow at the difficulties she has caused for the victims of her offences," said Mr Sampson.