A BEREAVED dog lover who stole a batch of canine clothing while drunk following her father's death has been shown mercy by top judges.

Louise Goldsmith was 'upset' and had been drinking following her father's death from cancer.

She attempted to walk out of a Pets at Home store in Newport, with £150 worth of doggy clothes in December last year.

Goldsmith, 41, of Ombersley Road, Newport, was hit with a 12-week suspended jail term after pleading guilty to theft at Cardiff Crown Court in March.

But today Lord Justice McCombe, Mr Justice Foskett and Judge Peter Rook QC, sitting at London's Criminal Appeal Court, overturned that sentence.

The judges handed her a community order instead.

The court heard Goldsmith, who had acted as her father's carer, had been drinking and could not remember carrying out the crime.

She admitted shoplifting, however, after police showed her CCTV footage.

She was a regular customer at the Pets at Home store and had her dog with her when she was arrested.

Her lawyers today argued that she ought not to have been given a jail term, albeit suspended, given the sad facts of the case.

Lord Justice McCombe said: "It is submitted that, in the circumstances, a custodial sentence was wrong in principle. Looking at the overall circumstances, we agree.

"A 12-month community order, with a specific alcohol treatment requirement, was appropriate to assist her rehabilitation "This appeal is allowed to that extent," the judge concluded.