AN Old Trafford woman has been handed a criminal asbo after she stole tins of gas from shops in Altrincham and inhaled them.

Sarah Eckford, aged 36, of Ayres Road, pleaded guilty at Trafford Magistrates’ Court on Friday (March 30) to charges of theft and breaching an interim ASBO after she failed to attend an earlier hearing.

She was given the order after the court sentenced her to two weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.

The court heard how Eckford persistently caused problems in and around the Altrincham area and on the Metrolink system, behaving anti-socially after stealing tins of butane gas from shops and inhaling their contents.

The two-year order prohibits her from using threatening, abusive or insulting words or gestures or engaging in behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress.

She is also banned from possessing any gas filled cigarette lighter, lighter fuel, flammable liquids, gas canister, accelerant or any other highly flammable material at any public place in Greater Manchester.

Eckford is now forbidden from travelling on the Metrolink network or other form of public transport in Greater Manchester without a valid ticket or pass.

Any breach of the order would be a criminal offence and could lead to up to five years imprisonment Superintendent Jim Liggett for GMP’s Trafford Division said: “Anti-social behaviour is a problem that can blight people’s lives and this individual has made life very difficult for law-abiding people trying to go about their daily business.”

Trafford Council’s acting corporate director of transformation and resources Ian Duncan added: “The council is proud of its track record and commitment to work alongside its partners to tackle anti-social behaviour. This order reinforces the importance of this approach to bring the perpetrators to task.”