A judge has issued a warrant for the arrest and detention of a woman who was cleared of being involved in stealing an £18,000 diamond.

Minerva Kvec had charges of stealing the gem from a Bradford on Avon jewellers dropped after the man she was with admitted the theft.

But at an earlier hearing the 41-year-old admitted stealing foodstuff to the value of £136.46p from a farm shop on Saturday December 15, 2007.

The mother of six was due to be sentenced in January but failed to turn up for the hearing at Swindon crown court claiming to be unwell.

She again did not attend a hearing in February when a judge issued a warrant with bail to try to get her to court.

But when she missed a third consecutive date Judge Douglas Field said “I am going to withdraw the warrant backed for bail and issue a warrant not backed for bail.”

Kvec, of Herrick Road, Salty, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to theft from Iten Farm Shop and not guilty to theft of the diamond.

She was with Sandu Niculescu when he pinched the precious stone from Orton Jewellers in Bradford on Avon.

The 35-year-old, also from Birmingham, took the gem on Wednesday December 5 2007 a few days after they first went to the Market Street shop Niculescu asked about a four and a half carat princess cut square diamond saying money was no object and the jeweller said he would get one in.

When he was allowed to view it the Romanian palmed the gem, which has never been recovered.

He was jailed for a year for what a judge called a ‘calculated operation of dishonesty’.

At an earlier hearing Colin Meeke, prosecuting, told said he was offering no evidence against Kvec meaning she will not face trial for the matter.

“It was clear that the jury would find sympathy with her and her lack of English,” he said, adding that Niculescu had ordered the stone which was taken.