Desperate for help- can you be a solicitor with a police caution?

[cymbidiumsmi]

Please, please, please help..............

I have no idea what my chances of getting a training contract with a police caution for shoplifting are.

I would love to do a GDL but am afraid I won't get a tranining contract with a magic circle, or indeed, any law firm as I received a police caution for shoplifting in 2003 when I was 21.

I cannot deny that I shoplifted and now that I think back as an emotionally balanced person, I am so ashamed it makes me sick.
I was going through a time when I had such low self-esteem, I genuinely didn't care what happened to me; I felt relieved and vindicated at the thought of being killed by my sister. Since I was 17, I was subject to consistent emotional and physical abuse from my sister and blamed for it by my parents, who didn't realise she was ill and thought I provoked the beatings. It has since emerged that she has bi-polar effective disorder/ schizophrenia.
It sounds unbelievably pathetic now but I did genuinely feel everything in my life was ugly and hopeless. In my mind, I made up a world away from it all, where things where beautiful and happy. I don't know how I managed to make the leap from dreaming to illegally make it a reality but I did twice and was caught.
I had stolen duvet covers. It was a totally senseless act.

I have qualifications from Bristol and Oxford University.

My questions are:

Although it is now "spent", will it always remain on my record?
Is there any chance that I can get it deleted?

Will I have to declare this when applying for training contracts?
Will I have to provide an enhanced CRB check?

How might my caution affect my training contract applications and future career?

I have saved enough to pay for my GDL year but am relying on a training contract to pay for my LPC fees and living.
If this is going to count against

[christinej]

How about seeing if the Law Society will help with your questions.