Gym thief Fidler spared jail

Jeanette Fidler

A FORMER heroin addict and serial thief has escaped jail - despite having more than 140 offences on her record.

Jeanette Fidler (39) was ordered by a judge at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, to serve a two-year community order after admitting 12 thefts in June while on licence.

The mother of two was jailed for two years in May 2011 for stealing over £16,000 of property from 65 victims in seven months. She was granted early release in October that year.

Fidler, of Titchfield Road, Oldham, then went on to steal three iPhones, one Blackberry, a debit card and cash, worth almost £2,500, from lockers in the Village Gym in Hyde and the Waterside Gym in Didsbury.

Her defence claimed these were her first offences free of drugs or alcohol.

Judge Bernard Lever imposed the community order after ordering her to serve a four-year ASBO when she appeared before him in August. The ASBO bans her from entering hotels with leisure facilities or gyms.

Fidler has been before magistrates across the North-West, including Oldham, Warrington and Macclesfield, 26 times.

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