Riots August Hackney
Laura Foley, was given community service after taking a television during the London riots Reuters

A police officer's sister has escaped jail after admitting stealing a flat-screen television in Croydon during the London riots.

Laura Foley, 22, who is six months pregnant, admitted the theft at Inner London crown court and said it took place in "a moment of madness".

She was sentenced to 100 hours' community service and must pay £500 costs.

Foley, whose sister Lisa, 28, is a Metropolitan Police officer, had the TV for a matter of seconds before a youth took it off her on 8 August. Her colleagues at Tiger Tiger club, where she works as a security guard, told the police.

London