A thief has been convicted of possessing a knife in public after failing to show for her trial.
Cherleigh Root, who has amassed 56 offences on her criminal record, including 30 for theft, was homeless when she was found carrying a lock knife on a street in Blyth more than two years ago. The 35-year-old initially appeared in the dock at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court to plead not guilty to possessing a bladed article in public and her case was set down for trial earlier this month.
However, she was convicted in absence after she failed to show and a warrant was issued for her arrest. Root then appeared in custody at Newcastle Magistrates' Court to learn her fate and plead guilty to a bail act offence and a separate charge of shoplifting, which saw her steal £56-worth of coffee, meat and alcohol from a Nisa store.
