A woman in the grips of a drug addiction has been condemned to a 30-month prison term after admitting to a series of petrol station thefts last week and called for help to get her life back on track.

Charlotte Zammit, 37 of Tarxien - the mother of Liam Debono charged with the assault of policeman Simon Schembri - had pleaded guilty upon her arraignment over her involvement in a string of petrol station thefts between May and July in various locations around the island.

The woman had also been charged with wilful damage to third party property, breaching a 3-year probation order as well as being a recidivist.

The court had heard how CCTV footage had enabled the police to identify and track down the suspects. The woman’s partner in crime, Stephen Galea, had been remanded in custody upon his arraignment a day after that of Ms Zammit, pleading not guilty to almost identical charges.

When delivering judgment in respect of Ms Zammit, the court, presided over by magistrate Neville Camilleri, took note of the nature of the charges, her early guilty plea, the woman’s criminal record as well as her call for help in battling her addiction.

In view of this, the court condemned the accused to a 30-month jail term with an express recommendation to the Director of Prison to provide her with all necessary help so that she might “commence, follow and complete a drug rehabilitation programme”.

Inspector Roderick Agius prosecuted. Lawyer Josette Sultana was legal aid counsel.