A woman was jailed for eight months after she cashed stolen cheques worth more than £2,500 from a Newton Aycliffe home.
As reported in The Northern Echo today, Christina Walton took cheques from a house in the town, where she was staying temporarily, before cashing them.
The 32-year-old, of Clyde Terrace, Coundon, said the householder’s daughter wrote six cheques totalling £2,570 from her business account and left them behind when she went on holiday.
Jacqueline Gibson, prosecuting at Aycliffe Magistrates Court yesterday, said Walton saw them and cashed them.
The theft was discovered when the woman returned and checked the account.
The court heard Walton deposited one cheque for £295 into her own account and the rest into her son’s.
Laura Moorby, mitigating, said the crime was opportunistic and that Walton cashed the six cheques separately to buy day-to-day items.
The court heard Walton wanted to make amends and that her apology to the family had been accepted – although the bank did not refund any of the money.
Walton admitted six fraud charges dating between July 26 and August 27 last year.
The court did not impose any order for compensation or costs.
