Shirley Micallef, 34, a waitress from Valletta, this morning pleaded not guilty to stealing rings from two jewellery shops.

Police Inspector Fabian Fleri, prosecuting, said the first ring, costing  €300 was stolen  from E Jewels in Bisazza Street, Sliema on August 13, but the CCTV footage was not clear.

However, 10 days later a similar theft was carried out and another ring of the same value was taken from Sterling Jewellers in St George Street, St Julian's. This time the footage was clear. The accused stole the rings in order to sell them in order to fuel her drug habit, the inspector said.

Ms Micallef is pleading not guilty to stealing the rings, breaching the conditions of previous release when given probation, and relapsing.

In pleas on bail, the inspector said that he would not object to bail on condition that strict enough conditions were laid down. Lawyer Veronique Dalli  asked the court to consider that the accused was a waitress and worked part time so she was unable to make a deposit. She also worked late hours.

Magistrate Ian Farrugia granted her bail against a personal guarantee of €2,000.