A woman was forced to play detective to bring a “trusted” cleaner to justice after jewellery worth almost £2,000 disappeared from her house.

Angela Rees suspected 27-year-old Billi-Jo Pratt was responsible after noticing the valuables were missing from her home in Broadstairs.

She reported the theft to police, but officers soon dropped the case, claiming there was not enough evidence to charge Pratt.

So Ms Rees took matters into her own hands and found the proof needed to help convict the agency worker.

Pratt, from Folkestone, appeared before Margate magistrates this month and admitted the offence.

The court was told Ms Rees noticed the jewellery was missing on April 10 last year - two days after Pratt had been round to clean the property.

Among the stolen haul - which was worth £1,825 - were gold earrings, a sapphire pendant set, a yellow sapphire ring and other rings and earrings.

When Pratt was quizzed by police about the jewellery, she denied knowing who had taken it and suggested Ms Rees's boyfriend could even have been responsible.

Officers told Ms Rees there was insufficient evidence to charge Pratt and the case against her was dropped.

But a dissatisfied Ms Rees started making her own inquiries and went to Carthew Jewellers Pawnbrokers shop in Queen Street, Ramsgate.

She asked shop staff if they had ever handled the jewellery, and was told they had purchased it.

They also had CCTV footage from the sale, which showed Pratt in the shop selling the items.

Ms Rees alerted police and, after being questioned again, Pratt finally admitted she had stolen the jewellery.

In court last Thursday she pleaded guilty to theft from a dwelling.

Ian Bond, defending, said the jewellery was returned to Ms Rees.

He added that Pratt had recently fled her home because of domestic violence and was homeless at the time of the theft, with very little money to live on.

He said she had no previous convictions for dishonesty and regretted her behaviour, which was "out of character".

Pratt was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and attend 25 rehabilitation sessions as part of an 18-month community order.

The cleaner - who was in breach of a suspended sentence for a driving offence in 2021 - must also pay a victim surcharge of £95 and £85 costs.

Chairman of the bench Diane August said: "This offence was committed in a position of trust and you were under a suspended sentence order at the time.

"We appreciate you were in difficult circumstances fleeing domestic violence and we have taken that in to consideration.

"We will not activate the current suspended sentence order as [the crime] was of a different nature."