Craven Arms woman made off to escape £3,000 bill
A former school teacher has admitted making off from accommodation in south Shropshire avoiding thousands of pounds in bills.
Norma Hartley-Porter, 75, stayed at the Affcot Lodge off the A49 near Craven Arms between August and November 2017 and accrued a bill of £3,000 before leaving.
Then in February 2018 she made off from the White Horse in Clun without paying a £692.35 bill.
She pleaded guilty to two counts of making off without paying at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Wednesday, and will be sentenced on July 24 after a pre-sentence report is compiled.
Hartley-Porter has previously been in prison for dishonesty offences.
In 2011 she was given an eight month sentence after stealing £7,683 from 94-year-old Christine Kermode.
Hartley-Porter took the money between February 2009 and October 2010 while staying at a former hotel owned by Mrs Kermode.
She spent her ill-gotten gains on items including lingerie and sheep. She also kept several of her pets in kennels across the county and never paid the bills – which totalled more than £8,500.
In 2005, she was also convicted of stealing £4,450 from a 64-year-old man, her friend, by using his bank card and PIN.
Hartley-Porter, of Brooklands Park in Craven Arms, represented herself at Wednesday's hearing and said she would organise for a solicitor to help her by July 24. Rachel Pennington represented the crown.
Judge Jonathan Gosling said: "It's not the first time you have acted dishonestly and that may affect the case."