BROWSING the rails at her local boutique, Kim Farry is all too aware of a pair of eyes watching her as she peruses the latest looks.
Having stolen £2 million worth of goods and served jail time five times, the 62-year-old grandmother is Britain’s most prolific shoplifter so she can’t blame security for being a little tight.
However, Kim, who now claims benefits, says it has been two decades since she pilfered anything claiming that her notoriety put a stop to her thieving forever and says she now thoroughly regrets her criminal past.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Kim says: “I can’t go into a shop now without someone following me around but they’re about 20 years too late!
“I struggle financially but I don’t shoplift anymore, that’s not who I am and I would never go back.
“But if I were nicking stuff, there’s no chance the security guards would catch me, with 46 years experience I’m far too good!”
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Kim’s first experience of shoplifting occurred when she was just nine years old.
“Shoplifting wasn’t a hobby, it was a necessity,” she says.
“There were nine kids in my family and my mum was all alone trying to bring us up so there wasn’t a lot to go around.
“I remember one morning I came downstairs and there was one egg to feed us all.
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“It was then that I started pilfering things from the local store to feed us. I was only a child myself so no one batted an eyelid.
“What other choice did I have?”
But Kim quickly progressed from taking the odd loaf of bread and soon found herself moving on to higher ticket items.
She explains: “My siblings and I were picked on for the way we dressed.
“Kids can be really cool and they called us tramps and so I thought, ‘I’ll show them’ and got my own back by taking designer kids clothes from the shops, we were the best dressed kids around!
“I never bragged so I don’t think my mum was any the wiser and presumably people thought the clothes had been a gift from my dad.”
But Kim didn’t stop at children’s clothes, going on to steal everything from a leather jacket worth £1,000 to a chest or drawers and an entire oven.
“I had shoplifting down to a fine art,” Kim admits.
“People used to call me Aladdin’s Cave because of the sheer amount I would be able to come away with in a matter of minutes.
“Anyone can steal but not the way that I was doing it.”
As Kim mastered her swiping skills she found a way to make a ‘career’ out of her crimes.
There have been times when I’ve been tempted, when I’ve been really struggling but I have come too far now to go back – I don’t think I’d ever go back.
She explains, “I would steal things, take them back and exchange them for vouchers and then sell the vouchers on for half the price.
“Those vouchers weren’t stolen, they were handed over by the store with a receipt. What could the police do?
“I employed loads of people who were on benefits to exchange things on my behalf so that the stores wouldn’t get wise.
“They’d earn £100 a day from me so it was worth their time. I had half of Kingston working for me.”
Kim’s crimes enabled her to buy her dream home, flash cars, holidays and even breast surgery but they also inevitably landed her in prison.
The mum served five prison sentences in total, ranging between three months and two years but she confesses her time inside never put her off.
“I never minded being behind bars really,” Kim says.
“The moment I was out I would be straight back to shoplifting again.”
Kim says that it was her children who eventually encouraged her to put her shoplifting behind her.
“Living that life you attract the wrong people in your life and I didn’t want that around my kids,” she says.
“They wouldn’t want anyone over and neither would I because I didn’t want anyone asking questions.
“It obviously impacted them because they were missing out on a mum but back then I didn’t care, without the money they wouldn’t have had anything.
“If you don’t feed your kids you’ll get done for neglecting them. I’d rather get done for shoplifting.
“Now they think I’m the best mum ever. They’re so proud of me for turning things around and they’re all as good as gold themselves too.”
Without her shoplifting empire to live off Kim has been forced to claim benefits as her criminal record has made it difficult to find a job.
“My main focus is getting a job now,” she says.
“I do voluntary work at a local housing association but it’s impossible to get on the payroll.
“I have turned my life around but because of my criminal record people won’t hire me. It can be a vicious circle because what choice do you have if you can’t get hired?”
But no matter how much she has to budget, Kim says she will never go back to a life of crime.
She adds: “There have been times when I’ve been tempted, when I’ve been really struggling but I have come too far now to go back – I don’t think I’d ever go back.
“I’ve realised how unhappy I was doing that. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been now.
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“Lately I’ve been seeing people tucking things away in their bags in shops and I can’t blame them, there's a cost of living crisis.
“I know how hard it can be, but I hope for anyone stealing it’s a one off as I know from experience it’s easy to start, hard to stop.”
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