Britain's biggest handbag thief: Housewife who stole 900 designer handbags - almost one a day for three years - must pay back thousands she stole or face jail

A mother of two was today ordered to pay back more than £117,000 she made on eBay after stealing 905 designer handbags in three years.
Jayne Rand, 49, of Purton, Wiltshire, would sling the luxury leather items over her shoulder in department stores - pretending they were her own handbag - to fund her lavish lifestyle.
Police believe the housewife is Britain’s biggest designer-label handbag thief - stealing almost one a day from 2009 to 2012 around the UK.
She targeted brands such as Gucci, Radley and Ted Baker, to sell them on eBay. Rand started stealing after the property business she ran with her husband got into financial difficulty.

Thief: Jayne Rand, 49, stole luxury leather handbags over her shoulder from department stores

Her home-run business made her £117,171 by selling them to eBay customers all over Britain. But she may now have to sell her home to pay back the proceeds of her
handbag crimes.
Prosecutor David Wooler told an earlier hearing: ‘She targeted department stores including Debenhams, House of Fraser and John Lewis.
‘Her usual method of theft was to go into the store without a bag, pick up one from the display, walk around with it on her shoulder for a while, then simply walk out of the store. Sometimes she would have to remove the security tag, but usually she wouldn’t have to.’
She was told by Judge Tom Crowther QC at Cardiff Crown Court today that she must repay everything in the next six months that she made by selling them, or face two years in jail.
Andrew Taylor, defending, had told the court Rand would need six months to organise her property portfolio to pay back the money.

Stolen goods: Rand targeted brand names such as Gucci, Radley and Ted Baker - to sell them on eBay

Luxury: Her criminal business made her £117,171 by selling the handbags to eBay customers across Britain

He said: ‘Although the property market may be in the early stages of recovery it isn’t always easy to sell. Given six months they will be able to organise their portfolio of properties to be able to sell.’
Rand’s one-woman crimewave was brought to an end by two eagle-eyed security workers at a House of Fraser outlet in Cwmbran, South Wales.

Couple: Rand is pictured with her husband Philip, 50

She admitted the theft and then confessed to police to stealing 905 handbags since 2009. The bags were worth between £175 and £200 each.
Rand admitted stealing 905 handbags and four purses from House of Fraser and various retail outlets between December 2009 and December 2012.
She also admitted converting criminal assets from 838 handbags. Rand was jailed for 18 months last year at Newport Crown Court after admitting stealing the handbags to order and selling them online. She was released after six months on a home detention curfew.
Rand’s 50-year-old planning consultant husband Philip, and her grown-up daughters Gemma, 19, and Amber, 23, had no idea she was shoplifting.
Mr Taylor told the court: ‘She became almost immune to the feeling of wrongdoing. She was almost addicted to stealing high-value bags in an attempt to keep the ship afloat.
'She never expected to find herself in such dire circumstances and out of desperation took this course of action.’
Rand walked free from the proceeds of crime hearing today with her husband.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman told MailOnline today: ‘We do not comment on individuals.
‘Home detention curfew provides a crucial opportunity for low risk offenders to be resettled back into the community while subject to a strict set of licence conditions. If an offender breaches their licence conditions they can be recalled to prison.’

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