EXCLUSIVE One-woman crimewave racks up 180th conviction: Britain's most prolific shoplifter is back behind bars after stealing £1,300 of goods over Easter weekend
Britain's most prolific shoplifter has racked up her 180th conviction after a rampage where she stole more than £1,300 of goods including a haul of Cadbury 's creme eggs and other festive chocolate on Easter Sunday.
One-woman crimewave Tanya Liddle, 44, who has had 400-plus arrests and carried out in excess of 350 crimes, is back behind bars after being charged with stealing from six shops in Newcastle in 72 hours of thefts.
Liddle has indicated she will plead guilty to shoplifting Easter treats as well as joints of beef, steaks, shaving blades, detergent and dog food. She was also accused of burgling an Aldi when it was closed on Easter Sunday to grab £200 of batteries.
It came as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that shoplifting is now at record levels. Figures for 2024 show police recorded 516,971 shoplifting incidents - the highest level since current police recording began in 2003.
Her latest shoplifting spree came after she was released from prison again - and despite a ban from all shops in the Northumbria Police area, which she has tried to get around by wearing a range of disguises, including outlandish hats and wigs.
One Newcastle shop owner, who has been repeatedly targeted by Liddle, told MailOnline sarcastically: 'Well banning her from shops has worked hasn't it'. He added: 'I really think the time has come for her to be locked up for good'.
One security guard said: 'She'll go for anything she can get her hands on'.
After a similar crime spree last year, one store manager told MailOnline: 'We've been plagued by Tanya for many years now. When she's out of prison she tends to try her luck at our shop on almost a daily basis'.
While Emmeline Taylor, a criminology professor at City University, said when asked whether Tanya would re-offend: 'The definition of madness is to keep doing the same thing but expect something different'.
Tanya Liddle is thought to be Britain's most prolific shoplifter - and has been busy stealing over Easter.
On April 12, the day after Good Friday, she is accused of grabbing £129.21 of detergent and dog food from a Spar shop.
The following day - Easter Sunday - she has been charged with stealing - or attempting to steal - from four stores including in the same Aldi, twice, where she grabbed creme eggs, chocolate, coffee, beef joints, steak and dairy products worth more than £200.
On the same day she hit a service station where she stole biscuits and confectionary worth £299. And she also raided a Co-op store for more chocolate and dairy worth £80.
And the following day, Easter Monday, she targeted a Morrisons petrol station and attempted to steal razor blades and laundry products.
It appears she was arrested that day and appeared in court last Wednesday, where she was remanded in custody.
She indicated that she would plead guilty to all charges, according to court documents seen by MailOnline.
Liddle was also accused of three offences on January 2 this year, allegedly taking meat and Lynx deodorant worth in excess of £500.
On December 30, 2024, she was charged with stealing gaming cards and a playmat worth £306 and on October 14, she allegedly stole dog products worth £150.
In late August last year, she tried to leave stores with two shark hoovers, Pokémon cards, clothing, handbags, coffee, instant noodles.
In July she stole clothing to the value of £394.50, belonging to Primark from its city centre store in Newcastle.
In March she was arrested for snatching £18 of chocolate from a service station.
Shop staff predicted that the ban on her entering shops would not work - and have been proved correct.
Bosses know who she is and that she often turns up in a bizarre disguise involving a wig, oversized clothing and sunglasses.
Liddle's one-woman crime wave is part of a much larger shoplifting epidemic, which the British Retail Consortium (BRC) says costs retailers £1.8billion-a-year.
One local store owner even claimed Tanya used her TikTok account, which has 1400 followers, to teach people 'how to get away with stealing'. The post has since been taken down.
Liddle served time in prison in May and July last year but only served half the time on both occasions with her victims saying time and again she is not 'properly punished'.
She also avoided fines due to a lack of means.
A manager of a local supermarket, who asked to remain anonymous, told MailOnline that Liddle tries to steal from them most days when not behind bars.
'Whilst we stop her on most of these occasions, we estimate that she's stolen thousands from us.
'She was in only a couple of months ago and tried walking past me with bags for life full of products. Like many others we are baffled that she isn't serving major prison time.
'She isn't fazed by being arrested for a few weeks here and there, and we'll be amazed if this ban actually works.
'It's no wonder we have to deal with shoplifters on a regular basis given even the likes of Tanya aren't properly punished'.
In September 2024, Northumbria Police banned her from pretty much every shop in the region for the next two years. But she has flouted it.
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