A Newton Aycliffe woman denies helping herself to thousands of pounds from the old Blue Bell garage.
Avril Henderson, of Brockwell Close, is on trial at Durham Crown Court for allegedly taking nearly £85,000 over a five-year period.
When interviewed by police about the missing cash, the 63-year-old could offer no explanation as to what happened to the money.
As reported in The Northern Echo today, Durham Crown Court was told that Mrs Henderson, who leased the station from the Upex Group, was confronted, questioned and dismissed after discrepancies were noticed in accounts in October 2010.
It is alleged she took increasingly large sums of money from cash petrol sales, but made up for it on accounts sheets submitted to the Upex Group by adding the equivalent figure to the amount supposedly bought by account holders.
When doubts emerged, checks were made of accounts submitted from the station over five years and it revealed a total shortfall of £84,995.
The prosecution alleges Mrs Henderson took the cash because of personal financial difficulties, making large cash deposits into her bank accounts in the days before a monthly £706 loan repayment was deducted.
Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said Mrs Henderson was the only person working at the station with access to the cash and the safe keys.
The court heard she filled in the station accounts sheets most days, but other staff members did on weekends and at other times when she was not at work.
When interviewed by police, Mrs Henderson confirmed that she found it increasingly hard to make a success of the business because of declining sales, amid competition from a nearby supermarket filling station.
She confirmed that some weeks she failed to make enough to meet her £250 a week rental payment to Upex, and had fallen about £4,000 into arrears to the company.
Mrs Henderson was asked by the officer overseeing the inquiry, Detective Constable Karl Hopps: “Have you ever taken money you shouldn’t have?”
She said no, and made a similar denial when asked: “Have you taken money out of this company you shouldn’t have?”
Asked to explain the disparity in figures, she told Det Con Hopps there may have been some miscalculation, but added: “Anyone can add up wrong one day, but not every day.
“There’s got to be something wrong somewhere, but I just haven’t taken £85,000.”
Mrs Henderson, who denies theft, added that she had no explanation for the missing money.
The trial continues today (Wednesday).
