A BETTING shop boss pocketed more than £5,000 of the takings to pay off her debt, a court heard.

Eileen Andrews, 57, then assistant manager at the Gala Coral shop in Church, had claimed she had taken the money because she had been threatened by two men but in reality she had been in debt with bills to pay.

A judge had dismissed her version of events as “complete invention.”

Burnley Crown Court had been told Andrews twice claimed she had banked cash – amounts of £2,900, and £2,500 –but she never did it. When she was interviewed by police she denied all knowledge of the missing money and then claimed she had been threatened by two men.

Andrews, of Fairclough Road Accrington, but formerly of Acre Mill Lane, Stacksteads, was told that she had taken the cash for herself in a “serious breach of trust”.

But, Recorder Mukhtar Hussain, QC, said he should have sent her to prison but added: “This is an exceptional course I am taking in your case.”

Andrews admitted two counts of theft. She was given a six- month jail term, suspended for 18 months, with 150 hours unpaid work. She had no previous convictions.

Daniel King, defending, said Andrews, who now worked as a carer, had lost her good character and that was a very significant punishment for her.

Mr King told the court Andrews’s current employer thought the offences were an isolated incident and considered her to be a keen, enthusiastic and reliable staff member.

She had not lived a lavish lifestyle with the proceeds but had had a number of bills- council tax, utility and phone bills – she had to pay and the money was not used for self- indulgence.

Mr King continued: “She can’t pay any compensation at the moment but the matrimonial home is due to be sold and Gala Coral will be paid back the money which was taken.”