A man and woman found themselves in a sticky situation when they were caught red-handed trying to steal hundreds of pounds worth of chewing gum.

Stefan Costache, 57, and Andreea Guache, 22, were confronted after leaving the B&M store in King’s Lynn on April 13. 

Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told the Romanian pair had hidden dozens of boxes of gum worth almost £340 under children’s clothes in a shopping basket before trying to smuggle it out of the store. 

But their actions had been monitored by security staff.

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Costache, from Huddersfield, and Guache, from Birmingham, both pleaded guilty to shop theft.  

The pair were described in court as “acquaintances” but no explanation was given as to why they came to be in Norfolk.

Annette Hall, mitigating, said they had both been in the country for less than a month.

“Neither formerly lives in the UK to serve any community sentence and they have no means to pay fines as they are being supported by relatives,” she added.

Magistrates sentenced them to one day’s detention but ruled they should be released for the time served since their arrest.