TWO women who staged 'shopping' and shoplifting expeditions to York armed with more than £1,800 in forged banknotes have been jailed.

Mary Jane Maughan, 25, and Annabelle Cawley, 35, with a third shoplifter Bernadette Cawley, 46, used a child to masquerade as a “happy-go-lucky family out shopping” when they travelled from Leeds to the York Designer Outlet, said Recorder Andrew Haslam.

In two planned expeditions, they stole hundreds of pounds of designer products and Annabelle Cawley 'paid' for goods with two forged £20 notes.

York Crown Court heard that when police caught the trio as they headed home, they found two stashes of counterfeit notes and a counterfeit note detector so the women could know which of their banknotes was real.

Between them they had £1,900 in forged Scottish £20 notes.

Maughan, of Cardinal Avenue, Leeds, pleaded guilty to three charges of theft, one of possessing £1,620 in counterfeit notes with intent and one of possessing £280 of counterfeit notes. She was jailed for two years.

Annabelle Cawley, of Bodmin Street, Leeds, pleaded guilty to three charges of theft, one of using counterfeit notes and one of possessing £1,620 in counterfeit notes with intent. She was jailed for 21 months. Bernadette Cawley, of Cardinal Avenue, Leeds, who is not related to Annabelle Cawley, pleaded guilty to four charges of theft. She was given a two-year community order with 30 days’ rehabilitative activities and fined £150 with an £85 statutory surcharge.

York Crown Court heard that all three targeted Sunglasses Hut at York Designer Outlet on July 14.

On July 22, all three targeted The Cosmetic Company Store, the two Cawleys stole from The Fragrance Shop and Bernadette Cawley and Maughan stole from Lacoste.