A mother of a two-year-old girl risks being jailed after she yesterday pleaded guilty to charges of stealing handbags to fuel her heroin addiction.

Police Inspector Anthony Portelli said the woman's habit was so bad she put it before her child's welfare.

He said the 39-year-old mother had actually taken a dose at 7 a.m. on Tuesday "when she should have been giving breakfast to her daughter".

A doctor had confirmed that she had taken the drugs before being arrested. Her arrest came about after she was caught on a CCTV camera. Witnesses also gave an account of her description.

The thefts occurred between December 18 last year and March 6 and she also used credit cards she found in the bags to buy almost €2,000 worth of items, the officer said.

In submissions on punishment, legal aid lawyer Martin Fenech said that the amounts stolen were small and that were it not for her cooperation most of the crimes would still be unsolved.

Rebutting this, the prosecuting officer said the police had everything they needed to convict her, referring to witnesses and the CCTV footage.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli postponed sentencing until tomorrow in view of the long list of charges.