Woman jailed for £82,000 theft

A finance administrator at Northamptonshire has been jailed for 20 months after being found guilty of stealing £82,000 from the county.

Northampton Crown Court heard how Susan Woodward abused her position to fund a lavish lifestyle. Despite earning only £14,000 a year, Woodward took her family on expensive holidays and also bought a property in Marbella, Spain.

"She was an utterly trusted employee," the prosecutor told the court. "She had access to all the club's accounts. She kept the books. She was the accounting system." She pleaded guilty to 19 charges of theft and asked for 58 other offences to be taken into consideration.

Woodward had worked for the county for seven years but resigned suddenly in February. The fraud squad was called in after irregularities were found in the annual accounts.

The court heard how she forged 77 fake cheques in a five-month period starting in November 2002. The county are considering instigating proceedings against her to recover the money.