The secretary who stole a handbag worth £1,000 from upmarket department store Fortnum & Mason the secretary said,after becoming so 'obsessed' with bag, she went into the shop to stare at it repeatedly before she took it.
Elisabeth Morgan-Rees, who is 29, kept returning to the exclusive store in central London to gaze at the black Sophie Hulme tote bag before picking it up and trying to leave without paying on May 18.
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Westminster Magistrates' Court heard today that CCTV footage showed her lurking around the item the day prior to the theft, and that she tried to steal the same bag from the store a month earlier.
Morgan-Rees, from Chelsea, who has four previous convictions for theft dating back to 2007, was fined £265 after admitting theft and was also ordered to pay more than £350 in court costs.
She wept in the dock as she admitted the crime but claimed her long-running battle with bulimia had driven her to commit it.
Representing herself, she said: 'First of all I am incredibly ashamed and I would like to apologise for my behaviour.
'It's not an excuse but just by way of explanation I do have two letters from my psychologist and my doctor in regards to my eating disorder.
'On this particular occasion I had been through a period of binging and purging which had been affecting my moods and it does lead to impulsive and obsessive behaviour.
'I had enough funds to pay for the bag, I've been in treatment for about six years.'
She added: 'I'm a secretary and I love my job,' before breaking down in tears.
Ms Victoria Luke, prosecuting, said: 'The allegation was put to her and she said she had become obsessed with the bag and it kept coming back to her.
'She said she did have the money to money to pay for it and she had a credit card with her that had a limit that would have more than covered the cost of the bag.
'She is said to be suffering from bulimia which causes her to act in certain ways including becoming obsessive about certain things.
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