Mum stole from bosses to pay for wedding


05 November 2005 13:50

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A senior supervisor at a supermarket stole more than £1,600 from her bosses to give her daughter a slap-up wedding.

Diane Herd, who had never been in any kind of trouble before "wanted to send her daughter off in style".

She stole the money at Roys in Bowthorpe by making a total of 15 fake refund claims, the court was told.

She was spared jail at Norwich Magistrates' Court yesterday , but she will have to sacrifice her Sky TV.

Sentencing her to 250 hours unpaid work in the community, District Judge Sandeep Kainth said: "I'm not going to send you down, what's the point?

"But these offences should attract a prison sentence. They were carried out over a period of time and you were in a position of trust.

"All these facts indicate a custodial sentence. But you were clearly trying to do the right thing raising the deposit for the wedding.

"But there can be no justification to take from your employers."

She was also ordered to pay £1,662.75 compensation to Roys.

Mrs Herd, 46, of Beverley Road, Earlham had offered to pay the compensation back at £50 a month, but the judge said that was insufficient and ordered her to pay £100 monthly.

On her expenditure list, she had mentioned that she had satellite TV. Mr Kainth said she would have to sacrifice that to make the payments.

Mrs Herd had previously admitted five offences of theft involving about £540. She had asked for 10 further offences to be considered.

The court heard that Herd was a senior checkout supervisor at the Roys of Wroxham store at Bowthorpe. She had been promoted to that job in July 2001.

In September this year checks were carried out on refunds she had done because of discrepancies in the paperwork.

Investigations showed that the items allegedly brought back had never been sold at any of the Roys stores.

Checks were then made on all the refunds Herd had done during the previous few months.

No goods or paperwork could be traced relating to five occasions she had claimed refunds.

When Herd was seen by police she admitted the goods had not been returned, she destroyed the paperwork she had completed and pocketed the cash.

She said she had done the same thing a number of times because she needed the money.

Ryan Creek, for Herd, said she wished to express her remorse and intended to repay the money.

"Mrs Herd has no excuses and, indeed, does not ask me to present any excuses to the court.

"She found herself in a difficult position because, she tells me, her daughter was wishing to get married and she wished to send her off in style, provide her with a good wedding."

Money was tight at home and she saw the opportunity to get some more at work.

Mr Creek said Herd's husband, who suffered from chronic arthritis and was on incapacity benefit, had not known what she was doing.

Herd, he added, had another job lined up.

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