Jailed loot handler freed on appeal

A woman in Britain who accepted a pair of looted shorts from her housemate has walked free from prison after her sentence was reduced on appeal.

Mother-of-two Ursula Nevin, 24, was jailed for five months by a district judge last week after she pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods.

The Recorder of Manchester, Judge Andrew Gilbart QC, ruled today that the decision was “wrong in principle” as he ordered that she should instead perform 75 hours of unpaid work for the community.

Nevin was in bed at the time of the widespread disorder in Manchester city centre where her lodger, Gemma Corbett, helped herself to clothing and footwear from the Vans store and then took them back to the house they shared in Stretford, Greater Manchester.