A WOMAN admitted she stole money from the bag of another woman having an epileptic seizure on a night out.

Lois Irvine appeared at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, where she pleaded guilty to theft by finding after taking £45 in cash from the victim Sophie Ravetta, as well as her driving licence and credit card, outside Arribar in Barrow's Cavendish Street.

The court heard how Irvine, 21, of Arnside Street in Barrow, was asked to search Miss Ravetta's bag for medication by a friend who was helping her following the seizure.

Irvine was said to have rifled through the bag to find the tablets but could not.

She was then said to have gone back into the bar, where CCTV pictures showed her taking items from Miss Ravetta's bag.

It happened before 1am on December 23.

Irvine admitted taking the money but said she thought the credit card and driving licence had probably been lost rather than stolen.

Pam Smith, prosecuting, said: "The defendant took the bag into the bag to search through it.

"Miss Ravetta only realised later when she woke up in hospital that the items were missing from inside her bag."

The prosecutor read a victim impact statement to magistrates, in which Miss Ravetta talked of the effect the incident had had on her life.

Miss Ravetta said she had suffered a number of epileptic fits since the incident which she believed were caused by the increased stress.

She said she was anxious about going out at night for fear of meeting the defendant.

Mitigating, Tristan Roberts said Irvine had expressed remorse over her behaviour.

He said: "I would argue it's exploiting the situation rather than targeting vulnerability.

"She knows what she did was thoroughly wrong.

"To say she is deeply ashamed of what she has done is an understatement. This is genuine remorse."

Mr Roberts said Irvine had asked him to pass on an apology to the victim.

He also told the court Irvine had been a similar situation to the incident last weekend and, as a direct result of her behaviour, helped a person who had collapsed.

Magistrates sentenceded Irvine to 160 hours of unpaid work in the community.

She was also ordered to pay £220 to the victim to compensate for "material loss and distress".