A 30-YEAR-OLD woman has been banned from East Lothian after appearing in court charged with a series of slip-in thefts in Prestonpans last week.

Melissa McPherson, of Elbe Street, Edinburgh, denies five charges of theft from houses in the town on Friday, January 16.

It is alleged she stole a paintball gun and accessories, a handbag and two hand-held computers from houses on Atholl View, keys and two pairs of sunglasses, along with £100 cash, from a house on Cameron Way, and two pushchairs, two pairs of sunglasses, clothing and a shovel from homes on McLachlan Gardens.

McPherson, who also pleaded not guilty to possessing cannabis in the town on the day of her arrest, was released on bail on the condition she does not enter the county.