TWO thieves who swiped items from a shop said they could not remember the offence because they were on Valium.

Amy Jane Foster and Terrance Charles Graham appeared at court together after taking a number of items off the shelves of Home Bargains in Barrow.

South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court heard the pair, aged 37 and 42, took miscellaneous items from of the Dalton Road store on October 14 and left without paying.

The couple, of Egerton Court, both admitted the offence but said they could not remember it happening.

Prosecutor Pam Ward told the court the items they stole amounted to just under £20 and had not been recovered by the shop.

She said: “This case was a joint enterprise at about 4.50pm.

“The defendants entered the store with each other and walked round the store and selected a number of miscellaneous items from the shelves.

“Both of them left without paying for the items.

“In interview both defendants said they could not remember because of the Valium tablets they had taken.”

Defending, Michael Graham said: “The theft is not sophisticated.

“Neither of them remember.

“It seems they were on prescription medication.

“They had gone shopping to purchase the items but for some strange reason have taken them and left.

“They are both unemployed and have problems with anxiety and depression.”

The court heard the couple were serving conditional discharge for criminal damage at the time of the offence.

Magistrates were told they had tried to break into the flat above them because theirs had become uninhabitable due to fire damage.

They were each told to pay a fine of £80 for the offence.

They were also told to pay back £9.80 in compensation, a £32 victim surcharge and £85 in costs. Magistrates decided the offence did not breach the conditional discharge.

Valium is the trade name for diazapam, used to treat anxiety.