Christine McGuinness was caught stealing shoes from Asda because she was so poor

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Christine McGuinness has recalled how she once tried to steal a pair of shoes when she was younger. She was caught by the shop assistant – but they were taken aback by her heartbreaking reason

Christine McGuinness was once caught stealing shoes as a kid.

In her new book A Beautiful Nightmare – published by Mirror Books – the 33-year-old model recalls the time she was caught stealing a pair of shoes from Asda as a young girl – and the reason was absolutely heartbreaking.

Christine remembers being bullied at school for the holes in her shoes – and in a desperate attempt to stop the other kids from picking on her, she tried to take a new pair of the shoes from the supermarket.

Writing in her new book, she shared: “I’ve only ever stolen one thing in my life. When I was a child, I attempted to take a pair of shoes from the local Asda. My school shoes had holes in them and I was getting bullied about it.”

Christine was caught by a shop assistant, who called the police and her mum Joanne. After a stern talking to, the shop assistant decided to let her keep the shoes after seeing her “battered loafers”.

She added: “Much to my horror, I got caught and the police came and took me in a back room to give me a telling off. They also called my mum in. The shop assistant spotted my battered loafers.

“‘I’m getting bullied and I’ve got holes in my shoes,’ I wailed to this complete stranger. ‘I can’t afford new ones for her,’ my mum said, mortified. And seeing how little we had, they let me keep them. My childhood was a difficult one – no two ways about it.”

Christine grew up on a council estate in Halewood, Merseyside and her and her mum Joanne used to joke about being “dragged up”.

However, she wouldn’t change anything for the world and says that “if you haven’t got anything, you don’t miss it”.

“Financially, we had nothing and grew up in quite a large council estate in an area called Halewood in Merseyside,” she shared.

“We lived in a flat in a high-rise building and there were bars on our windows. My mum Joanne and I laugh now and say my siblings and I were dragged up. But I wouldn’t change it – if you haven’t got anything, you don’t miss it.

“Things became hard financially when my mother left my father, when I was a toddler. She had to separate from him, she had no choice.”

* Preorder Christine McGuinness: A Beautiful Nightmare (RRP £20, out 25 Nov) and save £5 with the offer code XA9. Order online at Mirrorbooks.co.uk