A mum that stole £12,000 from her work to fund her online bingo habit has received a suspended prison sentence and 150 hours of unpaid work. In addition to losing the £12,000 which she needs to pay back, her marriage has broken down following the incidents.

Kelly Dunn, 36, was the manager at Card Factory and used her position to take the money instead of banking it. The mum-of-three had become addicted to online bingo following a big early win. Since this point she had had a series of losses but had believed by using the money from her employer she could make a quick buck.

Dunn, from Middleton, was given 150 hours of unpaid work and an eight-month prison sentence suspended for one year, after pleading guilty to the theft at a previous hearing. The court were told that the company dismissed Dunn and retained £2,000 out of her last wages pack; she still owes them £10,000 to cover the theft.

Hanifa Patel, prosecuting, told the court: "The company operates a policy where no more than £3,000 can be held in the tills overnight. Staff were asked to pay money into the bank.

"Between that period, £12,000 was taken by the defendant. When this was discovered by the organisation, she freely admitted taking the money."

Defending, Michael Lea, claimed that Dunn had a ‘chronic gambling problem’ but had had been unable to accept her addiction at the time. He added that her marriage had broken down following the theft and said that: "She had a substantial win when she started playing and that has prompted her to continue, believing she would keep winning. She is deeply remorseful for her actions and very sorry to her employers."

Recorder Maurice Greene, commented in the sentencing: "You’re a woman of good character who got involved in bingo and gambling and you needed money to do that. It wasn’t a case of needs, but because of a lifestyle choice you made and couldn’t control."