Cashier jailed for stealing £40,000

A judge at Bradford Crown Court was told yesterday that 22-year-old Donna Oades used the cash to "cheer herself up'' after her mother left home without explanation.

Prosecutor David McGonigal said Oades, who had no previous convictions, had bought herself a £14,000 Volkswagen Golf and her barrister revealed that some of the money had also been used to buy a flat in the south of England.

"Her father became depressed and to some extent the money was an escapism,'' said her barrister Jayne Beckett.

"It was a means of cheering herself up and she did it again and again. It spiralled out of control. She wanted to escape from her Bradford family home.''

Between April and June, Oades transferred thousands of pounds from DLA Solicitors to either her own bank accounts or her father's.

Mr McGonigal said Oades handed in her resignation on June 4 and it was only after she left that an inquiry was triggered.

Oades, of Malthouse Place, Romford, Essex, admitted six offences of dishonestly obtaining money transfers by deception and asked for six similar matters to be taken into consideration.

Mr McGonigal said the total sum was about £41,000, but Mrs Beckett told the court that her client had paid back £9,000 from the sale of the car and a further £2,000 was also returned.

"By the end she was aware she was going to be found and became increasingly nervous,'' said Mrs Beckett. "She knew it would only be so long before she was detected.''

When Oades was questioned by police she made full admissions about what she had done.

Judge Linda Sutcliffe told Oades: "This was a repeated and determined effort to line your own pockets. This was not a case were you needed the money desperately for ordinary, everyday things."

Judge Sutcliffe said it was an aggravating feature of the case that Oades had used her father's account without his knowledge, putting him at risk of proceedings for laundering the proceeds of crime.