Mum-of-five Tracey Lough stole from the company on two occasions within a week
A trusted worker stole £1,800 from her Post Office employers by making phoney card transactions.
Tracey Lough helped herself to the cash on two occasions within a week while she was a member of staff at the Heddon-on-the Wall branch of the company. A court heard that, at first, the 40-year-old took £200 in cash, while on the second she made a £1,600 deposit.
The mum-of-five's deceit was finally unveiled when a colleague at the store noticed discrepancies in the books and became suspicious of Lough after she checked CCTV. The area manager was called and later the police and Lough immediately confessed, prosecutors said.
Now, Lough, of Falstone Court, in Hexham, has now been fined £200 and ordered to pay £1,800 compensation after she pleaded guilty to two counts of theft by employee. District Judge Paul Currer told her: "On two occasions, you used your card to withdraw money and, when the transactions were declined, you took the money in any event.
"That was an exceptionally foolish thing to do - you were bound to be caught. I accept it was done out of desperation."
Newcastle Magistrates' Court heard that Lough was employed at the Heddon-on-the-Wall Post Office at the time of the two offences on June 29 and July 2 2023. Paul Coulson, prosecuting, said one of her colleague's called their area manager a few days later on July 5.
Mr Coulson added: "The colleague reported a discrepancy, which had shown up to do with an unexplained deficit of £1,800. It had led her to check CCTV footage, which had led to concerns about two transactions carried out by a member of her staff, Tracey Lough."
The court heard that the footage showed Lough, who has no past convictions, making the transactions when she'd either finished her shift or was on a day off. She admitted what she'd done when confronted by police.
James Rickerby, defending, said Lough, who now works as a cleaner, had acted out of desperation to pay-off mortgage arrears. He added: "She took the only route she thought was available to her. The money went straight into her mortgage arrears.
"It was a desperate act to try and keep a roof over children's heads. She knew it was wrong and has been wracked with guilt ever since."