Three thieves including a pregnant woman, who stole more than £1,000 of health products and make-up from Boots, have been locked up.

The trio were charged after two of the chain’s stores, in Edenbridge and Tonbridge, were targeted on August 17.

They group nicked £460 of stock from the first and £981.60 of items from the second.

Their car was stopped by police shortly after they targeted the store in Tonbridge when staff alerted police and gave them a number plate of the vehicle they suspected the thieves had made off in.

Officers spotted the car, a Vauxhall Corsa, a short time later in stationary traffic in Eridge Road, Crowborough, and the trio – two men and a woman – were stopped.

The car was full of black bags of various pharmaceutical products.

The trio, who are all originally from Romania, were arrested and taken into custody.

Gheorghe Robert-Florentin, and Alexandru-Pelican Vasile, both of Browning Road in East Ham, as well as Violeta Florea, of no fixed address, were later charged with two counts of shoplifting.

Robert-Florentin, 33, was also charged with driving without insurance or a licence and possession of cannabis, after officers found a small quantity of the drug on him.

Debbie Jones prosecuting told the court £460 of items were taken from the store in Edenbridge High Street and then later £981.60 of goods were taken from the store in Tonbridge High Street.

The court also heard, Vasile, 36, and Florea, 24, had been given conditional discharges after being convicted of shoplifting on June 30 where they had again worked with another person to steal.

By committing these new offences they were in breach of that discharge.

Robert-Florentin was of previous good character and had no convictions.

The bench heard that he and Florea, who is expecting a baby and has a five-year-old child back in Romania, had entered the UK on tourist visas which lasted six months, but Vasile had indefinite leave to stay in this country and had lived here for six years.

It was stated that all three had stolen the items so they could provide for their families and that Vasile’s wife had just given birth to a third child. He didn’t know how to claim benefits for his family, the court heard.

Magistrates were told Robert-Florentin’s family were in Germany and that he had three children and had tried to get work while he was here as a tourist, but couldn’t find a job, so was motivated to steal the items to sell on so he could send money home.

They pleaded guilty to all the charges and, at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (September 5) were each sent to prison for 100 days for the shoplifting offences and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154.

Robert-Florentin had six points endorsed on his licence for the no insurance offence, but received no separate penalties for the no licence and cannabis offences.

Chairman of the bench Mr Macintyre, said: “Stealing is wrong, we have no alternative but to send you to prison, you need to learn thieving is likely to get you locked up.”