A WOMAN has admitted to stealing items worth almost £1,000 from a Bradford mosque food bank.
Michelle Roper, of Grosvenor Street in Manningham, stole a black handbag containing cash, a purse and a Samsung 7 Edge phone at Almarkaz ul Islami mosque, Beckside Road, on November 2, 2022.
The items were to the value of £910.
The 53-year-old entered a guilty plea when she appeared at Bradford Magistrates Court last Tuesday.
Roper's niece Catelin is also charged with the same offence but was too unwell to attend the court appearance.
The court heard how the victim who worked at the food bank had left her handbag in the staff room which Roper went on to steal.
Once she noticed the bag had gone, leaders at the mosque searched the CCTV footage and witnessed the burglary.
They then proceeded to follow Roper to another female's house.
This was when Roper flung several bank cards and the phone on the floor to them.
The police were informed and, following a short foot chase, the pair were arrested.
The prosecution in the case said Roper's actions had "some degree of planning".
Roper's defence said she was a regular visitor to the food bank and would often depend on its services.
They added that it was an "opportunist situation" and Roper now knows she should not have done it.
Roper's sentencing will take place at Bradford Magistrates Court on Wednesday, February 7.
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