Peaches Geldof in 'shoplifting' row

Peaches Geldof has been accused of leaving a London boutique with a dress that she had not paid for.

Staff at the Victim fashion store, near Carnaby Street, noticed that an expensive cream dress had gone missing after the 18-year-old DJ had been browsing on Thursday evening.

Geldof's management were then called over the incident and the teenager returned to the shop two hours later, apologising for the "misunderstanding".

"She said sorry and that it was a misunderstanding, but the dress is ruined," designer Mei-hui Liu explained. "She said the dress had got caught up in her scarf and because it was the same colour she didn't realise she had it in her arms. The agent's assistant arrived on Friday afternoon with the money for the dress. The dress is worth £500 but we charged £250."

The store's manager Nazinna Douglas also expressed disappointment over Geldof's behaviour.

"She can get everything she wants for free," Douglas complained. "To her taking a dress means nothing but it's not something we take lightly. This is our livelihood. It's just not fair."

A spokesman for Geldof insisted: "The claim is totally incorrect. Peaches has a receipt for the supposed stolen dress. It was an honest mistake at the time and Peaches went back to the store having been told the dress was missing.

"The payment was made [on Friday] because the store's credit card machine was not working [on Thursday]. She most definitely has not been shoplifting and nothing has been reported to the police."