Lottery ticket thief is spared jail sentence
A SHOP worker who stole £7,000 worth of lottery tickets from the village store where she worked has been spared a term in jail by a judge.
Mary Lewis, 51, admitted pocketing the lottery tickets over a five year period while she was working at Folkingham Fine Foods in Folkingham.
Lincoln Crown Court heard the discrepancy was only discovered after accountants carried out an audit of the business.
Lois Colley, prosecuting, said Lewis initially claimed to have nothing do to with the missing money when she was spoken to by the store's owner.
But two days later she asked to speak to her boss in private and then admitted: "I've got something to tell you, it was me."
The court was told Lewis immediately offered to pay back the missing money on her bank card and the police were informed.
During questioning Lewis admitted she had taken lottery tickets up to the value of 15 each day but had enjoyed no 'big win'.
Miss Colley added: "The police found no evidence of an extravagant lifestyle."
Robert Underwood, mitigating, said: "When she made her confession to her superior it was against the background of an investigation.
"She had a meeting with her superior and immediately paid back all she had taken.
"It was stupid. She had no reason to steal and has now lost her impeccable good character.
"Having taken one ticket and then another, it escalated out of control."
Lewis of Churchfields Road, Folkingham, pleaded guilty to the theft of 7,000 worth of lottery tickets between November 1 2004 and August 9 2008.
She was sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment suspended for a year, 12 months supervision and ordered to obey a ten week nightly curfew.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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