A WOMAN from Worcester drove off without paying for fuel from a city petrol station.

Courtney Gee was giving two friends a lift when, she says, they promised to pay for the petrol.

A court heard, Gee, aged 25, drove away from the petrol station after her friend’s card was declined, and she claims she believed her friends were going to a cash machine and going back to pay.

Shafquat Reaz, prosecuting, said: “At 12.45 the defendant’s Vauxhall Astra pulled in to the Henwick Road petrol station and one of the passengers filled up to the value of £50.

“Another person went into the shop to pay and while there, the payment card was declined.

“They returned to the car in the understanding that the defendant would return to pay for the fuel but she failed to return and the matter was reported to the police.”

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Gee admitted making off without making payment and was handed a 12-month conditional discharge.

She was also ordered to pay back the value of the fuel in addition to £90 costs and a £21 victim surcharge.

Barry Newton, defending Gee, said: “The defendant is a single mum with a child and her so-called friends at the time asked her to drive them somewhere and that they would pay for the fuel.

“She was not the one who drove onto the forecourt, that was the male in the car.

“The driver’s partner went in and her card was declined so the man in the store said one of them should remain there while the others went off.

“Rather gullibly she dropped the passenger off at the cash point but she never went back to the shop.”

The court heard how Gee, of Glenthorne Avenue, has a previous record of offending, with one previous conviction for theft, dating back to 2016.