A DRUG addict who snatched a £1,500 iPhone from the hands of a reveller in the city centre who was making a call has been jailed.

Prolific offender Katie Evans grabbed the device from her victim as he was trying to contact his friends who he had become separated from.

The defendant, a 33-year-old mother, targeted the complainant in Newport city centre during the early hours of the morning last summer, Cardiff Crown Court heard.

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Matthew Cobbe, prosecuting, said: “It was around 4.15am on July 28, 2019, when the phone was snatched as the victim was alone and was trying to phone his friends.”

The court heard how the man chased Evans and was kicked and punched by others, but the defendant was not involved in connection with this attack.

The victim needed treatment for his injuries at the Royal Gwent and described being “shocked” by the incident.

Evans, of Clarence Place, Newport, pleaded guilty to theft.

The phone has never been recovered.

Judge Michael Fitton QC heard how the defendant was jailed for 18 weeks earlier this year after she admitted the theft of handbags from TK Maxx in Newport and Cwmbran on seven different occasions.

Mr Cobbe said Evans has 20 previous convictions for 73 offences, including 26 for dishonesty matters.

Gareth Williams, mitigating, said his client was sorry for the distress she had caused to her victim.

Judge Fitton told Evans she had a “terrible” criminal history.

He said: “You have a long record. For years you have been stealing to fund your addiction to drugs.

“This is probably the most serious of your offences to date.”

Evans, who appeared in court via video link from Eastwood Park Prison, was jailed for 11 months.

She was also ordered to pay a £149 victim surcharge upon her release from prison.